Apparel exporters have expressed anxiety over a three-day strike called by the Bangladesh Covered Van- Truck- Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association and Bangladesh Truck Drivers, Workers Federation. A delegation of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) led by its acting President SM Mannan (Kochi) met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at his residence on Monday night and requested that steps be taken to resolve the problem, taking the interests of the industry into consideration. The BGMEA delegation included Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin and Director Md. Khosru Chowdhury. The BGMEA leaders said retail sales are growing in the major RMG export markets as stores are opening following mass vaccination there, and Bangladesh is getting a lot of work orders as a result. READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image The issue of lead time is very important for the export-oriented RMG industry where every hour counts since manufacturers have to make shipment of products within the lead time specified by buyers. So any strike at this moment will severely affect the industry, they said. The BGMEA leaders urged the Home Minister to take steps to keep the transportation of export-import goods by road smooth and normal. The Home Minister assured the delegation of addressing the problem through discussion with the leaders of transport associations, said a media release on Tuesday. The BGMEA delegation said many buyers are demanding air shipment of products to make the delivery quicker as demand is rising sharply in their stores. Increased demand for air shipment has led to cargo congestion at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh But lack of sufficient number of scanning machines at the airport causes delays in air shipment, they said. Moreover, one of the two existing explosive detection systems (EDS) often remains out of service due to lack of proper maintenance, BGMEA said. So, buyers ask to have exported cargoes scanned at Kolkata airport due to lack of sufficient number of scanning machines, which results in cost rise and is not good for Bangladesh’s image, they said. The BGMEA leaders urged the Home Minister to take steps for increasing the number of EDS at the airport alongside regular maintenance. The Home Minister assured them of addressing the issues.

Apparel exporters have expressed their concerns over the rise in yarn prices in the local market. They said retail sales grew sharply in the Europe and the US as stores are opening following mass vaccination in the western countries. As a result a lot of work orders are coming to Bangladesh but unusual increase in yarn prices in the domestic market has made it difficult for the garment manufacturers to take the increased orders, they said. Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) expressed their worries during a meeting held at BGMEA office on Sunday. Read: BGMEA requests India to expedite trade through Bangaon-Benapole land port BGMEA President Faruque Hassan chaired the meeting which was attended by BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Directors Asif Ashraf, Md. Mohiuddin Rubel, Abdullah Hil Rakib, Rajiv Chowdhury, former Director Ashikur Rahman Tuhin, First Vice President of BKMEA Mohammad Hatem, Director Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, and BTTLMEA Chairman M Shahadat Hossain. They said the local mills are increasing yarn prices every day and providing proforma invoice (PI) with a short time limit which makes it difficult to open LC in such a short time. Moreover, it takes around 15 days to confirm orders. As a result, apparel manufactures could not take many of the offered orders despite having capacity. Even many factories are taking work orders under breakeven point only to stay in business. Buyers do not increase apparel prices as they only look at FOB. The problem is impacting the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s RMG industry. Read: BGMEA urges buyers not to penalise suppliers for lockdown-caused delays In the meeting the leaders had discussion on ways of addressing the problems being faced by the apparel sector. It was decided in the meeting that a press conference will be organised soon to share how the yarn price increase is impacting the apparel sector. They have also decided to hold talks with the government policy makers to ensure yarns at reasonable prices.