Garment stimulus next week: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday the government would announce a stimulus package for the garment sector anytime next week amid falling exports of apparel items.

The stimulus is meant to revive shipments as the country's main export earning sector suffered a double-digit blow: apparel exports declined more than 27 percent in September compared with the same month last year.

Meanwhile, former finance minister M Syeduzzaman, chairman of the working committee of the national taskforce committee on recession, submitted the recommendations to Muhith yesterday.

At its last meeting on November 10, the working committee recommended that the government give 5 percent cash incentive to readymade garment exporters and their backward integration only for new export destinations.

Except the EU, US and Canada, all export destinations will be considered the new markets.

At present, more than 90 percent of apparel items are exported to these three major markets, according to Export Promotion Bureau.