The President of Bangladesh’s apex garment makers’ body, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Dr. Rubana Huq has underlined that the current downtrend in apparel exports could very well stretch till April 2021.
This was underlined in media reports, according to which the BGMEA President has also written an open letter seeking more favours to repay coronavirus stimulus package loans.
Citing the current export challenges owing to the shattered global economy, especially the major markets in West for the country’s (Bangladesh) apparel products, the BGMEA President in her open letter on 7 January (Thursday) sought extension of the tenure of loans from the COVID-19 stimulus package and ease of other rules.
It may be mentioned here that, amidst the coronavirus crisis, to pay the workers from April to September in 2020, the Government had announced around Taka 100 billion incentive, the repayment of which was scheduled to start in January in 24 monthly instalments and the central bank of the country (Bangladesh Bank) has, reportedly, set third week of January 2021 to begin the repayment.
The BGMEA President, reportedly, wrote that even as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic continues in Bangladesh’s major apparel export destinations of Europe and USA, if the loan tenure is not extended, the apparel industry will need a 6-month extension of the moratorium of the salary stimulus package.
I seek all your help to look at the industry perspective and help us frame our narrative for policy makers to pay heed to the real situation and not the perceived one, the BGMEA President reportedly underlined in the open letter.
