The gas crisis have become a big problem in daily life. This problem is seen not only in the textile industry, but also in housing and vehicles. So it needs to be resolved this problem as soon as possible.
Bangladesh’s textile industry lost billions due to the gas crisis in the last 3 months. Textile production is being hampered by the gas crisis. The gas crisis is the most talked about topic at the moment. Despite the lack of a proper gas supply, the issue of increasing gas prices is now quite controversial. Gas shortages, low gas pressure, and a hike in gas prices are the major problem in the textile industry. Recently, textile millers have been opposing gas price hikes and demand for a smoother gas supply. Let’s talk about how the gas crisis affects textile production.
The textile industry is a major contributor to the economic growth of any country. The contribution of gas as fuel to keep the wheel of this economy moving is immense. Gas is the cleanest and most economical fuel used in a variety of applications such as dyeing, bleaching, drying, singing, and heat-setting. Singing is done by passing the yarn/ fabric over a gas flame to burn the protruding material.
The textile and garments sectors are feeling gas shortage in major industrial areas of the country including Savar, Narayanganj, Dhamrai, Manikganj, Gazipur and Chittagong. Continuous operation of textile mills required a pressure of 10 pounds per square inch (PSI) or more. But now, sometimes the pressure level is as low as 1.5 PSI. About 500 textile and garment factories are operating at half capacity or less due to the ongoing gas crisis due to a pipeline leak. The national grid for the production of captive power cannot meet the demand of textile industries. Shortage of liquefied natural gas supply is also responsible for the gas crisis. The crisis will be reduced if the LNG supply increases from about 600 million cubic feet per day to 800. The recent Suez Canal crisis has delayed LNG supplies, leading to gas shortage.
Textile production has declined significantly in the last few months due to low gas pressure. Because of the low pressure of the gas in the major industrial areas, a number of factory units have been running at 50%-60% capacity. The country’s apparel sector is also facing losses. About 80% of the yarn in country’s garment sector is supplied by domestic millers. As a result, delay in shipment of goods is being created due to untimely supply of yarn. The gas supply has been severely disrupted recently, where some factories run their production by shutting down 70% of its machinery. If the issue of gas shortage gets prolonged, the production of yarn will be disrupted significantly, which will have a negative impact on the country’s textile industry.
Uninterrupted supply of gas to textile industries by reducing the supply of gas in fertilizer factories and transport sector.
Opinions -ASM Raisul M Hasan Shoaib, Director, SIM Group
