Pabna’s hosiery industry in deep crisis

Pabna’s traditional hosiery industry is facing one of its worst crises after Bangladesh’s land-route exports to India were suspended, forcing many factories to shut down and leaving thousands of workers unemployed.

Arif Hossain, a hosiery entrepreneur from Pabna, invested in a large factory with bank loans and employed around 400 workers.

After exports to India stopped, he was unable to sell his products, eventually closed the factory, fell into debt, and all his workers lost their jobs.

According to the Pabna District Hosiery Manufacturers Group, nearly 3,000 factories once employed more than 100,000 workers.

Since the export suspension, about 65 percent of workers have become unemployed, while many factory owners are struggling with heavy financial losses.

Pabna’s hosiery industry, with a history of nearly 200 years, has long produced garments made from recycled knit fabric for export to India, Malaysia, Qatar, and several Middle Eastern countries.

Previously, more than 100 truckloads of products crossed into India every week, generating US$150,000-200,000 in export earnings.

Manufacturers say shipments now move mainly through Chattogram Port, increasing transport costs and extending delivery and payment times from a few days to over a month.

As a result, many businesses have reduced production, laid off workers, or shut down completely.

Factory owners report that once-busy production lines have become nearly idle.

Some factories have cut their workforce by more than half, while traders dealing in recycled garments are left with unsold stock and mounting debts. Many entrepreneurs who borrowed from banks and NGOs fear they may not survive if the situation continues.

Workers are also suffering. Many who lost their jobs are struggling to support their families and cover basic living and medical expenses.

Business leaders say the hosiery sector is a key part of Pabna’s industrial heritage and warn that without the reopening of land-route exports or immediate government support, the industry could face long-term decline. They have urged the government to take urgent steps to protect both entrepreneurs and workers.