Dhaka
The textile and clothing industry of Bangladesh is struggling for its existence. The industry is mainly based on exports, but orders from abroad have come down drastically in the past months. Meanwhile, the rising debt burden due to energy costs and high-interest rates has also broken the back of this industry. According to reports, many textile mill owners are considering giving their factories on lease amid the deepening apprehension of losses.
According to the people associated with the business, the biggest problem has come to the fore that the demand from Western countries is continuously decreasing. In such a situation, it is becoming difficult to continue production in the factories as before. That’s why mill owners are looking for people who can buy their factories. For example, Mahfuzur Rahman, the owner of the Rose Garden factory in Savar, has been looking for a buyer for the last several months. Meanwhile, they have reduced their factory price by a quarter. On the other hand, the owner of a mill running in a 12-storey building in Narayanganj has advertised to sell the factory.
According to a report published in Bangladesh’s newspaper The Business Standard, nowadays such advertisements are being seen daily in the national newspapers of Bangladesh. The number of mill owners looking for buyers has reached dozens. In case of no sale, they are also getting advertisements printed to give the factory on lease. On the other hand, many factories have been closed and the workers working in them have become unemployed.
The famous Dyard Group has closed three of its factories. The company received orders from all over the world for textiles, apparel, engineering products, software and agricultural products. But this company group closed three of its factories last month, where eight thousand employees lost their jobs.
Industry organizations say that they do not have the exact number of factories that have closed or are trying to be sold. But Fazlul Haq, former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told The Business Standard, “Many factory owners want to sell or rent out their factories. But no buyer is being found. The reason is that whether the businessman is small or big, he has to struggle for his existence.
According to Sayeed M Tanveer, managing director of a company called Pacific Jeans Group, he receives several calls every day from mill owners who are trying to sell their factories. Tanveer said- ‘Renting out factories is often the first step towards shutting them down. The factories which are in the Export Promotion Zone have also had to reduce their production. These factories are laying off workers. A very dangerous situation has come before us.
