Editorial
RMG buyers getting nervous
Bangladesh's avoidable image crisis
THE ongoing political crisis in the country has sent entirely the wrong signal to many foreign readymade garments buyers. Outbound shipment of finished goods has taken a major hit since Chittagong port has been adversely affected during recent hartals. While many companies have resorted to air shipment, it has done little to reassure buyers that normalcy is returning to the country any time soon. Graphic visuals of violent street agitation accompanied by vandalism and torching of vehicles and property have all been covered by international media. Such negative coverage has only helped portray Bangladesh as anything but stable.
The downside to all this is that many foreign buyers are renegotiating invoices with Bangladeshi garments companies due to loss of lead times. With hartals taking many days off a working week and a brewing labour unrest refusing to go away, manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to meet deadlines. Hartals and labour trouble are not the only problems facing the sector. Foreign buyers are suffering from a sense of insecurity in travelling to the country. Hence meetings that used to take place in the country are taking place elsewhere. The triple effect of image crisis, uncertainty of shipping dates and production stoppages mean that fewer orders will be placed with our RMG sector in the near future. Unless an amicable solution is found to the present political conundrum, RMG will have to suffer the same fate as other sectors are in the economy.
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