Another shock for garment

The collapse of a nine-storey building in Savar yesterday came as another blow to garment exports.
The building, Rana Plaza, housed five garment factories, according to the latest member directory of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Around 3,000 workers were supposed to be at work in the factories when the building collapsed.
Garment manufacturers and exporters said the incident occurred at a time when the main foreign currency earning sector is passing rough waters against a backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil in the country.
Bangladesh exported knitwear worth $7.59 billion and woven products worth $8.09 billion in the July-March period of fiscal 2012-13.
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a former president of the BGMEA, said the incident will surely have an impact on the export-oriented apparel sector.
“Export orders have already started to drop for political instability, and the situation would worsen after today's (yesterday) incident,” said Parvez, also the chairman of Evince Group.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, BGMEA said international buyers are shifting orders to other destinations, as Bangladeshi garment manufacturers are struggling to maintain the lead time.
According to an estimate by the association, 32 garment factories lost orders worth $2.5 million between January 31 and April 20.
The incident of building collapse is a fresh blow to the industry as the Tazreen fire and the ongoing political unrest have already cast a shadow on the sector, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said at a press conference yesterday. “There is no doubt it will have a negative impact on the sector.”
“We are already struggling to offset the impacts of the devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions in November last year and the recent political crisis,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, another former president of the trade body.
“We are yet to assess the future impact on the sector.”
The factories in Rana Plaza were -- Ether Tex, New Wave Bottoms, New Wave Style, Phantom Apparels and Phantom Tac, according to the BGMEA.
The directory also showed that 377 workers were supposed to be in Ether Tex, 526 in New Wave Bottoms, 1,073 in New Wave Style, 739 in Phantom Apparels and 407 in Phantom Tac.