DHAKA: The readymade garment industries of Bangladesh are facing threat of existence as the orders worth Tk 5000 were shifted to India during last year.

A big section of foreign buyers are not interested to purchase their garments from Bangladesh due to situations had arisen out of political unrest, building collapse and intermittent fire incidents in the garments factories. They are now trying to find new markets elsewhere including India.
 
Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) sources confirmed this information to banglanews.  

While talking, BGMEA president Atiqul Islam told banglanews that garments industry is now passing through rough water due to several hindrances many orders have gone to neighboring India.

Not only that India which got new orders of Tk 5000 crore was actually it was of Bangladesh. But due to political unrest Bangladesh was deprived of that business.
 
BGMEA started 2013 with the sad memory of huge number fire burnt dead bodies of Tazrin Fashions. Tazrin tragedy threw Bangladesh image into a crisis for the first time.

Before tackling the Tazrin tragedy again in Aril of the last year Rana Plaza tragedy, the biggest one took place. Around 1,100 people or more died in the human made tragedy.

There was a turbulent situation in the international market. Next the political unrest started. The buyers instead of placing orders they began to search new markets. Even they developed mental insecurity for business talks.

India did not miss the opportunity and accordingly they got orders of Tk 5000 crore. In this way, Bangladesh went to back foot in the competitions.   

Bangladesh Knit Wear garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) President Mohammad Hatem said that the political unrest prevailed last year have harmed the garments industry of Bangladesh.  India, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries have advanced much owing to weaknesses of Bangladesh suffered.

BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim said banglanews that at that time the buyers did suffer from mentally due to political unrest and insecurity of violence.       
 
In India, there is no political unrest and violence on one side, on the other hand, under the same roof everything including the raw materials are available there.     

Moreover, India developed in all kinds of resources than Bangladesh. From the infrastructural point of view there the businessmen and entrepreneurs get advantages in India.

So, due to political stability, infrastructural adequacies and production orientation facilities the buyers have tilted towards India, he added.  

However, Tapan Saha, general secretary of Bangladesh Textile Garment Workers Federation told banglanews that political unrest is not the only reason for not getting new orders.

He said due to the killings of a large number of workers in Tazrin and Rana Plaza tragedies garments orders had started going down remarkably. The owners must take this responsibility.
    
According to the sources of BGMEA, in every season, orders of Tk 10,000 to 15,000 crore are received. In current fiscal the garments exports earning was $ 1,420 crore.

BDST: 1605 HRS, MAR 03, 2014