Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine December Issue 2018 | Page 38
BANGLADESH INSIGHT
HAVE YOUR SAY BREAKING NEWS
Tell us your news by emailing at
[email protected] To read the latest sustainability news, go to
https://apparelresources.com/business-news/sustainability/
Strikes taking a toll on Bangladesh RMG industry!
K
udos to the spirit of Bangladesh’s
entrepreneurs! It is the sheer
guts and indomitable fighting spirit
that has the readymade garment
sector take on all the challenges
head-on – be it the image crisis in
the aftermath of the infamous Rana
Plaza disaster, the time-consuming
and financially taxing remediation
exercise or the challenges of falling
margins and increasing overheads –
and yet emerging not only unscathed
but also stronger than ever before.
Despite all these, one particular
issue, which is beyond the control of
the enterprising business community
of the country, is emerging as a big
challenge for the thriving apparel
sector. Working within tight deadlines
and an ecosystem of rising global
competition, the perennial issue
of strikes and hartals has posed a
serious threat to the export potential
of the sector, which as befitting as
it could be, wants to attain US $ 50
billion in apparel exports by 2021
to commemorate the 50th year of
independence of Bangladesh.
Irrespective of the goals, a string of
transporters’ strike in the last couple
of months is now emerging as a
concern, which has the wherewithal
to strike a severe blow to the industry
and its growth potentials.
It all started with the death of a few
students in what may be termed as
a case of rash driving in the heart
of capital Dhaka a few months
ago this year. What followed was
mass students’ agitation which
brought business to a standstill. The
Government soon swung into action
to bring things under control but
the ripple effect that manifested in
the form of transporters’ strike was
something the businesses had
not anticipated.
“Although the students returned
home, the subsequent strike called
by the transport service providers
disrupted civil life and export-
import activities of the country. The
FA C T S
l
The 48-hour
strike called by
the Bangladesh
Road Transport
Workers
Federation to
press home
their eight-
point demand
including
changes to the
newly enacted
Road Transport
Act-2018, had
allegedly brought
freight traffic to
and from the
all-important
Chittagong Port
to standstill
thereby severely
affecting the
exports and
imports.
apparel sector has been worst hit
by the strike. The export-import
goods could not be transported due
to the strike,” reportedly maintains
BGMEA’s First Vice-President,
Moinuddin Ahmed, addressing a
press conference and then adding,
“The imported goods could not be
unloaded from the maritime ports.
Export items also did not reach
the port on time for shipment. As a
result, productivity at the factories
has been hampered to a great extent.
Buyers are asking for discounts
as apparel exporters have failed
to ship on time. Moreover, we have
to account for additional airfreight
charges as well.”
First forward to October, another
transport strike again snowballed
into a big concern for the industry!
The 48-hour strike called by the
Bangladesh Road Transport Workers
Federation to press home their eight-
point demand including changes to
the newly enacted Road Transport
Act-2018, had allegedly brought freight
traffic to and from the all-important
Chittagong Port to standstill thereby
severely affecting the exports and
imports.
“The country’s foreign trade and
supply chain have been largely affected
due to the strike enforced by the
38 Apparel Online Bangladesh | December 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
transport workers across the country.
No goods laden truck and lorries
entered or left the city,” maintains
M. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin,
President of the Federation
of Bangladesh Chambers of
Commerce of Industry (FBCCI),
while President of the Exporters
Association of Bangladesh (EAB)
Abdus Salam Murshedy on his part
observed, “The strike has severely
disrupted the supply chain, bringing
huge negative impact on the entire
foreign trade. The export-oriented
industries may lose a good amount
of foreign exchange due to failure in
fulfilling their export obligations.”
The issue, in particular, has been
more worrying for the RMG sector!
“We were not able to send the
export consignment to port or
receive imported raw materials.
This has severely disrupted
production of many factories in
Dhaka, pushing them at the risk
of order cancellation,” states
Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President,
BGMEA, according to whom, about
3,000 factories in Dhaka faced the
risk of loss due to the transport
strike. “These factories will face
considerable financial losses due
to missing shipment deadlines,”
Rahman observes.