Govt meets RMG buyers’ representatives today to boost confidence

The government will sit with the representatives of garment buyers today to brief them about the country’s steps to safeguard the apparel sector and boost confidence of the international brands in the face of repeated blockades.
The move came amid concern among the apparel makers and their buyers over the current political deadlock that has hit the garment industry hard, said Mikail Shipar, secretary to the labour and employment ministry.
“We will try to give a boost to their confidence in doing business in Bangladesh,” he said.
Garment exporters have informed the government of the worries of the buyers who are repeatedly making queries about the current political unrest, Shipar said.
The meeting will be held at the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry.
“We are concerned as the buyers have started shifting a substantial part of their orders from Bangladesh to other countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia,” said Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“Buyers are worried and want to know whether we can make timely shipment in such circumstances.”
Buyers are also scrapping their plans to visit Bangladesh due to the political violence, Azim said.
“We are losing competitiveness in the global market,” he said, adding that the meeting will help restore the confidence of the buyers.
Apparel export growth of India and Vietnam was 30.9 percent and 30 percent respectively in October, while it was only 2.9 percent in Bangladesh, he said. “This shows orders are being shifted to our competitors,” he added.
“We are heading towards a tough time.”
The $20-billion export sector has already been hit by a number of recent disasters, including fire and factory building collapse, he said.
The BGMEA’s research and development team has collected nine days’ data (December 1-9) from 21 exporters to assess their overall losses caused by the blockades.
Orders worth $2.40 million were cancelled during the period, while the exporters spent $0.9 million on air shipment.
In the form of penalty for delayed shipment, the exporters saw a price cut by $4.65 million as orders worth $6.6 million were delayed. Losses caused by vandalism and arson were wroth $1.9 million.