Textile millers seek PM’s help on gas crisis

With mill production reportedly nearly halved over the past week, textile millers yesterday pressed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a solution to the gas crisis.

They raised the demand at a meeting with the premier at his office in Dhaka as the nearly $25 billion worth primary textile sector is experiencing multifaceted challenges primarily for gas crisis, safety in the business and cheap import of yarn from other countries.

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After the meeting, Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said they also discussed the troubled banking sector and high bank interest rates.

The prime minister has assured them that the government is working to install two more floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) to ease the shortage, Showkat said.

Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said they also discussed the troubled banking sector and high bank interest rates

The BTMA president announced that the association will hold a follow-up meeting with the prime minister within the next few weeks, this time bringing in leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

A committee was earlier formed at the prime minister’s office to work on the sector’s development in consultation with stakeholders.

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Finance and Planning Adviser to the Prime Minister Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostakur Rahman, and Acting NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib were present at the meeting.

GARMENT MAKERS PRESS THEIR OWN CASE

Earlier on Monday, the BGMEA and BKMEA demanded an uninterrupted supply of gas from CNG filling stations, after garment factories running on CNG to keep production going reported repeated supply disruptions.

Leaders of the two trade bodies separately wrote to Energy Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam and the Petrobangla Chairman Md Abdul Mannan with their demands, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem told The Daily Star.

Many factory owners have been buying CNG from nearby filling stations to keep their units running, he said, but disruptions there have made even that workaround unreliable.

Hatem said he had written to BKMEA members advising them to buy CNG from filling stations in the meantime.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with the BKMEA president on Monday, Secretary Saiful directed Titas Gas authorities to allow garment factories to keep collecting gas from CNG filling stations.

The directive came after Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company instructed CNG filling stations to stop selling natural gas into open cylinders or gas cascade cylinders not mounted on authorised vehicles, citing safety concerns and violations of the Gas Act 2010 and Gas Distribution Rules 2026.

Farhan Noor, secretary general of the Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association, said he had received two letters from the BGMEA and BKMEA requesting CNG sales to garment factories.

Station owners are supplying them given the circumstances, he said -- even though selling gas by the lorry-load is not technically permitted.

The energy secretary and Petrobangla chairman could not be reached over phone despite several attempts.