Still no sign of relief for Bangladesh apparel industry as more factories close
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Apparel factories in Bangladesh remain running at half-capacity after orders dry out, and bosses remain pessimistic about the probability of new orders any time soon.
Amid the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, factories which laid-off part of their operations are struggling to generate a full comeback, leaving a huge selection of workers jobless.
Which week several more factories terminated a huge selection of workers, because they are not obtaining enough orders from western buyers.
President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Dr Rubana Huq told The Loadstar only 50% of normally expected orders were to arrive now. And she actually is not expecting a go back to full capacity soon.
“Not before spring of 2021,”she said on WhatsApp.
Senior vice president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem said factories had started getting inquiries from buyers, but “the flow is very poor”.
He said: “Some factories are terminating personnel as they haven't any work orders,” adding that his own factory has 20 sewing lines, of which only 11 are operating.
In April and could, many factories announced lay-offs as western buyers cancelled or suspended work orders worth billions of dollars, he said, with many factories stuck with stockpiles of recycleables worth millions.
Some buyers are employing the problem to bargain for a price cut, while some have failed to pay, even after receiving goods, said Mr Hatem. Two weeks ago the BGMEA threatened to blacklist a British company, EWM Group, which had sought large price discounts from Bangladeshi manufacturers and had also not payed for clothes.
The BGMEA said if any longer brands was included with similar proposals for a discount or to stop payment, they might also be sued.
Meanwhile Chittagong port, the country’s prime gateway, continues to be experiencing acute congestion at its yard, with ships at outer anchorage. The slow delivery of containers through the shutdown period was accompanied by a two-day port closure because of Cyclone Amphan and last week’s Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Yesterday, some 22 container vessels were waiting at the outer anchorage, while 11 more were at berths. Some 42,706 teu of containers were lying at the port yard. Its total storage capacity is 49,018 teu.
Source: https://theloadstar.com
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