RMG growth declines by 10 pc in one year

BSS, Chittagong

Productivity of garments industries declined over ten percent last year from average 20 percent over the past five years in the port city due to various constraints from where country's highest foreign exchange earning sector first fostered in seventies.
Global economic recession, side by side power and gas crisis and law and order situation gripped the industry resulting in closure of 47 factories in the last six months and about 100 more industries, out of total registered 742 factories in Chittagong, are on the verge to closure.
A number of owners of the industries said that they are suffering from a number of local and international hurdles. Due to global recession the price of readymade garments (RMG) on an average dropped by 20 percent in the international market, they said.
On the other hand, they said, business cost has been increased about 25 percent because of increase of production cost, they said adding order for RMG from buyers declined more than over 30 percent in one year. Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) leaders said this while exchanging views with a delegation of Chittagong Journalists Forum Dhaka (CJFD) on existing problems of the RMG sector at BGMEA office here Monday.
"We get power only for five hours a day in Agrabad, known as the main commercial area of the port city and even a small factory has to spent Taka 2 lakh per month to buy fuel to run the generators to keep the sewing machine operative," said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, senior Vice-president of BGMEA said.
"We forecast 30 percent growth this year in RMG, but it could fetch only 10 percent, which is the first such negative growth of the sector in the country," he said.
To revive the growth of the sector, Nasir said, the future of RMG will depend on how long the recession will continue and how the government respond to curb the prevailing situation.
He suggested for giving interest free credit facilities to buy generator and subsidized fuel for uninterrupted power supply in the RMG industries and keep the industries free from any unrest.