Save the sector at any cost

In the country-wide unrest, the worst hit was the readymade garment sector. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, BGMEA, incurred daily financial losses of approximately Tk 16 billion. On the other hand, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, BKMEA, counted a $1 billion loss during the unrest.
Those surely are big numbers for a developing country like Bangladesh. With such huge losses incurred on a daily basis the owners are now trying their best to restart their factories and recover the losses. Some major buyers have already expressed their displeasure at the non-availability of broadband internet service for smooth communication with the factory owners. This is not a good sign for the industry where quality of products and timely shipment are two most important factors to stay in the race. The wholesale buyers would not like to fall behind others in the global competition.    

During the total shutdown, some factory owners feared cancellation of orders if forced closure had continued for an indefinite period. It is with great effort that some RMG factories have already opened their factories and resumed production. In a bid to recover lost working hours, some factories are working extra hours so that they would be able to export the entire quantity of the order placed with them. Some garment factory owners fear that as they failed to export huge quantities during the unrest, they might have to ship them by air, which would cost them an additional $1 million in expenses.

Bangladesh has about 3000 garment factories that produce and export high quality garments for markets around the globe. During the financial year from 2022 to 2023, the export value of ready-made garments (RMG) in Bangladesh amounted to approximately 47 billion U.S. dollars. In the previous year, it amounted to 42.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Many garment sector experts fear bad news for the RMG factory owners in the coming months as many factories could not send samples for new orders in due time because of the shutdown. We hope they will find ways to circumvent this obstacle and keep running their business smoothly. At any cost, we have to do everything for the survival of the RMG sector.