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Restive politics, slide in order pose big threat

Readymade garment exporters say

Staff Correspondent
Readymade garment exporters yesterday lamented restive politics andfallinglawand orderthatposedseriousthreattothesector.
They urged political leaders to refrain from any activities that can affect export, import and production, and dent Bangladesh'simageabroad.
"We are very concerned at the present politicalenvironmentanddeterioratinglaw andorder.Ourbuyers are also too worried," said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Quazi Moniruzzaman at a press briefingathisofficeyesterday.
"RMG buyers had shifted their orders from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh due to
political unrest there. And we are now getting the same sorry signal as of Sri Lanka fromthepresentpoliticalstate."
"Wecan'tallowsome people to toywith our investments and labour anymore. We can't afford hartal and deterioration of law andorder,"theBGMEApresidentsaid.
Some buyers have become familiar with the political unrest here, but that will hardly have any softening effect on the murky garment sector after 2004, fear exporters.
As there will be no quota after December this year, the RMG sector that contributes more than 75 percent to export earnings will face serious setback in attracting new
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buyers,heobserved.
Members of parliament receive fat salaries and privileges, and ministers roam around with escorts because of the money theentrepreneurspayintaxes,hesaid.
"If we can't run our factories without disruption,these(privileges)shouldalsonot continue," said Moniruzzaman, adding that political culture needs to be changed and politicians should be more tolerant to eachother.
Vietnam and Cambodia have thrown real challenge to Bangladesh's apparel aspiration.
The BGMEA boss said there is no such disruptive political programme in these countries, for which exporters there pro-ducetheirgoodshassle-free.
India is a country of 1.15 billion people but they don't have political unrest like Bangladesh, he added. "Our image would have been better if we could take lessons fromthesecountries."
Garment exporters will require to reduce lead-time and production cost to stay in the business during quota-free environment but we are still far away from takingonthatchallenge,hesaid.
Smallandmediumindustrieswillfindit hard to survive and political unrest is going to make their struggle all the more compli-cated,headded.
The economymight fall right on its face and social life will turn darker if the RMG sectordateswithdisaster,hewarned.
Garmentexports stoodat$200billionin 2002, and it should notch $350 billion business in 2007. He said that Bangladesh shouldfocusonincreasingitsstake,whichis only 2.32 percent now, in the global RMG exports.
Moniruzzaman also reiterated the BGMEAdemands forestablishinga central bonded warehouse, increasing the handling capacity at the Chittagong Port, implementing New Mooring container terminal project fast and transforming the Bangladesh missions into the export
promotioncentres.
BGMEA First Vice President SM Nurul Haque, Anisul Haque, Alamgir Rahman, directorsandotherassociationleaderswere presentatthebriefing.