United News of Bangladesh

In a bid to keep the wheels of the export industry turning during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, garment exporters have formally requested the government to keep all customs houses and relevant bank branches operational during the public and weekly holidays. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) sent a letter to the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently, specifically urging that operations remain active from March 17 to March 23. BGMEA thanks govt for releasing Tk 2,500 crore in export incentives BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan, told UNB that the garment sector is entirely dependent on fashion cycles and strict delivery windows. Failure to ship goods within the "lead time" dictated by foreign buyers carries a high risk of order cancellations. "In the current global economic climate, missing a shipment deadline doesn't just mean a financial loss for the entrepreneur; the country loses vital foreign exchange and, more importantly, the long-term trust of international buyers," he said. The exporters have requested that the following entities remain functional during the holiday period (excluding the day of Eid): The BGMEA requested Chittagong Custom House and all other land and sea customs stations, Relevant Bank Branches involved in export-import documentation and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) offices. Industry insiders noted that during previous years, the government’s decision to keep ports and customs operational during holidays significantly aided the sector's resilience. The BGMEA emphasized that seamless coordination between the port, customs, and banks is the only way to navigate the challenges posed by recent global market volatility. "We cannot maintain our export capacity without the continuous support of these stakeholders," a BGMEA representative told UNB. "Ensuring that the supply chain remains unbroken during the festive break is essential to preventing a major setback for our primary export earner."

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to provide green channel facility to RMG exporters to ensure faster delivery of imported garment raw materials through coordination between the Customs and port authorities. He also called on the NBR to issue a self-clearance licence to RMG exporters to allow them to take quick delivery of imported raw materials from the ports. The BGMEA chief made the request during a meeting with NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem held at NBR office in the city on Monday. Also read: Workers' well-being: BGMEA encourages dialogue BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Director Asif Ashraf and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell Shams Mahmud were also present at the meeting. The BGMEA leaders stressed on the importance of simplifying business procedures for the export-oriented apparel industry in order to retain its competitiveness in the global market. They requested the NBR to remove customs and bond related hindrances from the business proceedings to accelerate the growth of the RMG industry. Faruque Hassan said simplified business procedures will reduce lead time, thus will make the apparel industry of Bangladesh more competitive. It will pave the way of seizing new opportunities that are lying ahead of the RMG industry, he added. Also read: BGMEA chief appraises US govt officials about the significant strides made by RMG industry NBR Chairman Muneem congratulated the RMG sector on making outstanding contributions to the total export earnings of Bangladesh that reached USD 52.08 billion in 2021-2022 financial years where the apparel industry alone fetched USD 42.61 billion. This is a great achievement and milestone for Bangladesh in the year after the country celebrated its 50th anniversary, he said.

Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA) on Monday urged the garment manufacturers to negotiate additional prices on their products as cotton prices in the international market are on the rise. Addressing a press conference at a city hotel, the BCA leaders said the cotton prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon as the market got overheated during the harvesting time. Reading out a written statement, BCA president Muhammad Ayub claimed that cotton is an agricultural produce but it is massively used as an industrial raw material while its pricing is done based on New York Features. “The price of cotton started showing an uptrend on September 28, and it’s still showing the same trend,” he added. Read: IFC provides liquidity succour to Covid-hit RMG sector The cotton price index hit all-time high in a decade as it is selling at $126-127 cents or $1.26 to $1.27 per pound after an on call fixation system. The per pound cotton price was below one US dollar on September 1, 2021 which is now selling at $1.20 per pound in the global market, the BCA president said. Though the harvesting is on in almost all cotton-producing countries, the price of cotton is increasing and the market analysts cannot assume when it will come down, the BCA president said. Considering the situation, he urged the Bangladesh Garments and Textile Manufacturers to negotiate additional prices in line with the cotton rate as the global buyers are also concerned over the price hike of cotton. Earlier, the spinners asked the RMG exporters to negotiate the prices of apparel items with buyers keeping the price in mind as it was showing an uptrend in the global market. Read: Steps sought for re-skilling, upskilling of RMG workers to face 4IR challenges BCA leaders also said cotton import cost has also risen by $ 2/3 cents in Bangladesh due to the delay in unloading the cotton from ships at Chittgong port. C& F charges at the Chittagong port are also high, making cotton import costlier from Bangladesh. They also urged the government to take steps to ensure early unloading of imported cotton at the Chittagong port and reduce C&F charges. Outgoing BCA president Sultan Riyad Chowdhury, BTTLMEA Chairman M Shahadt Hossain, BKMEA executive vice president Hatem Ali also spoke at the press conference.