Bangladesh Textile Mills Association held a discussion on the current situation, challenges, and needed policy support for the textile sector, according to a press release. BTMA president Shawkat Aziz Russell chaired the meeting held at Gulshan Club in the capital.
Former BTMA vice-president Abdullah Al Mamun; former directors Md Fazlul Haque Babu, Tayabul Haque, Shahid Alam, and Khorshed Alam; Md Badsha Mia; and BTMA vice-president Md Abul Kalam, also chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industries, also spoke at the meeting.
The association expressed its gratitude to the government for the visible improvement in the supply situation of gas and electricity to the country’s industrial sector. At the meeting, participants said the recent improvement in gas supply had created a positive environment for production at textile mills.
Speaking at the meeting, Md Abul Kalam said that the government was working sincerely to resolve the gas and electricity problems. He noted that the energy crisis was a longstanding accumulated problem and that the government is taking measures through short-, medium-, and long-term plans to find a permanent solution. In the interest of the country’s primary textile industry, he expressed hope that the existing facility to import 10-30 count cotton yarn through bank guarantees instead of bond facilities would remain in place.
In his concluding remarks, Shawkat Aziz Russell said that if energy supply could be ensured, it would be possible to increase the textile industry’s production capacity, protect employment, and ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the ready-made garment industry. He urged the government to make policy decisions by balancing the country’s overall economic interests, industrial capacity, and revenue protection. At the same time, he stressed the importance of making the business environment easier and more competitive for legitimate, compliant industrial establishments, while taking strict measures to prevent misuse of the bond system.
