The ongoing curfew and internet blackout in Bangladesh have severely impacted the manufacturing industries, particularly the readymade garments (RMG) sector. According to industry insiders, RMG exports are projected to decline by 15 to 20% during the next summer season (January to March 2025) due to the recent disruptions and factory shutdowns.
SM Mannan Kochi, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating, “International buyers are losing confidence and dependency on us. The amount of loss this incident is causing to our image cannot be explained in terms of money.” Garment and textile factories started to gradually reopen yesterday after being kept shut for four days. All factories are reopened today. However, all large, medium and small companies will be in deep trouble in the coming days due to the current situation.
Talking to the Textile Today Mohammad Mezbah Uddin, Head of Marketing, Kimberley Design said, “We are exporting RMG goods in more than 15 countries including USA, UK, Australia, Japan and Middle East. Around 3,000 employees are working in our company. We’re facing a severe trouble due to internet blackout for the lastseveral days.”
“We cannot book of our ready products due to the internet blackout. As a result, the shipments will be postponed. Air shipment will cost us a double. Now RMG and its related industries incurred huge loss.” According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President SM Mannan Kochi, RMG sector incurred a loss of Tk16,000 crore daily.
According to data from the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), only 415 Twenty Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers were shipped to private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in 24 hours until Monday morning, compared to the average daily delivery of around 4,000 containers.
However, only 415 containers were shipped to the private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in 24hours till 8.00 am on Monday, against the average delivery of around 4,000 containers per day.
