Readymade garment manufacturers of Bangladesh called upon the Government to ensure efficient functioning of the Chittagong Port and airport. They have also urged for a stable power tariff along with long-term policy support for the continued growth of apparel exports.
The garment exporters made these demands at a roundtable, ‘Current Situation of the Garment Industry and a Way Out’, organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in Dhaka recently.
The participants, including several ministers, officials from different ministries, exporters and manufacturers discussed the country’s promising apparel sector’s present situation and possible moves to improve the same.
“The gas price and electricity tariff are very important for us when we make business plans. That’s why we want the price predictability for a certain period to start a new business,” underlined Tapan Chowdhury, President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
Responding to this demand, State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid maintained gas crisis will end by April next year as the Government has decided to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) but stopped short of assuring the exporters on stability in power tariff.
“In the next three years, the Government will ensure uninterrupted power supply to the industrial units. So you can plan in line with this. But we cannot say anything now about the power tariff,” Hamid said.
Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) called for more efficient functioning of seaports in Chittagong, Mongla and Payra as port congestion has been crippling the export-import activities, Rahman felt.
“The export scenario globally has been recovering at a fast rate and Bangladesh is still the top choice for garment retailers and brands but the Government is yet to ease port congestions” Rahman claimed.
