Refayet Ullah Mirdha

The dispute between spinners and garment manufacturers was resolved after the two sides fixed the price of the widely consumed 30-carded yarn at a maximum of $4.20 per kilogram.

Garment exporters are feeling the pinch of exorbitant transport fares as the rebound in the shipment of goods thanks to the reopening global economy has raised the demand for trucks and covered vans.

Beleaguered e-commerce platform Evaly, which faces inquiries by the government, said its liabilities to customers and merchants stood at Tk 543 crore as of mid-July, which is 35 per cent higher than the amount found by an initial probe of Bangladesh Bank.

Evaly has a liability of Tk 542 crore to its customers and merchants, a top official of the commerce ministry said today.

After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, then East Pakistan was not an ideal place for local entrepreneurs to do business as non-Bangalees from West Pakistan were in complete control.

Spinners are unwilling to reduce the prices of yarn in local markets even though apparel and terry towel exporters have demanded as much in order to remain competitive at the international level.

The changeover of state power in Afghanistan may not affect business with Bangladesh as the bilateral trade volume is not that significant, said local businesspeople yesterday.

Local garment manufacturers have demanded that the government ease conditions for importing yarn, cotton and fabrics as work orders were pouring in from international clothing retailers and brands.

Garment exports to non-traditional markets have been showing an encouraging trend amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as shipments grew 6.36 per cent to $5.08 billion in fiscal year 2020-21.

The dispute between garment and spinners over the prices of yarn could be resolved amicably after both sides softened their stances, in relief for Bangladesh’s apparel industry rebounding from the pandemic-induced shipment collapse.

Despite nine years of work and expenditure of nearly Tk 500 crore, the construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant in the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate (STIE) has not been completed.

Nizam Uddin, a sewing machine operator at a garment factory in Ashulia, cannot decide whether to go to his village in Mymensingh to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with his family.

International retailers and brands are putting on hold work orders placed with many factories amidst the uncertainty over whether garment factories will be allowed to run during the upcoming 14-day lockdown beginning July 23, said exporters.

The government considers allowing garment factories to be open so that the biggest export-earning sector can continue production and keep their commitment with international buyers.

Garment shipment will suffer a serious setback if production is suspended in July and August as it is the prime season for apparel manufacturers since sales rise in the Western market because of winter and Christmas, exporters said.

Labour leaders yesterday called on the government to form a committee as soon as possible to pay compensation to the victims of the fire incident at Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj.

Hardly any improvement in workplace safety has taken place at the non-garment factories over the years as the authorities were primarily bogged down in fixing the loopholes in the apparel industry.

Export earnings rebounded strongly in the just-concluded fiscal year, fetching $38.75 billion, buoyed by a revival in the shipment of garment items, official figures showed yesterday.

Many garment workers faced trouble yesterday as they walked to their workplaces in absence of public transport and for not having any transport arranged by the factories on the first day of a week-long strict countrywide lockdown.

The parliament yesterday passed the finance bill for fiscal 2021-22 without addressing calls for reassessing some vital tax issues, including easing the burden on small incomes amidst rising prices of essentials and additional costs to maintain hygiene.