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Gas crisis to invite disaster for primary textile sector

Fear spinners

Star Business Report
Leading textile and spinning millers fear a complete disaster soon in primary textile sector (PTS), as an acute gas crisis persists in the Joydevpur-Tangail-Kaliakoir industrial belt, the country's largest readymade garment (RMG) hub.
The entrepreneurs pointed to the fact that 38 factories in the belt now face a 60 percent shortfall in production capacity. The gas supply situation has worsened in the last two months, they said.
"A factory needs at least 85 percent utilisation of its capacity to become commercially viable," Abdul Hai Sarker, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), told a press briefing at the trade body's office in Dhaka yesterday.
The domestic gas crisis is a bane for Bangladesh, which is already losing its competitiveness because of the ongoing global recession, Sarker pointed out.
A less utilisation of capacity has been causing aTk lOcrore loss a day, whereas the 38 mills are capable of producing 160 million kg of yarn annually, the press meet was also told.
"We need gas to run the factories, otherwise we will lose our business, meaning joblessness of millions of
workers,” the BTMA chief said.
At the briefing, A Matin Chowdhury, a former BTMA president, suggested Bangladesh get prepared to tap the potential of global apparel market in the postrecession period.
Chowdhury, also the managing director of Malek Spinning Mills, anticipated a further crisis for the country on an increased demand for apparels when signs of an improvement in the financial downturn worldwide will be more visible.
"A huge opportunity is waiting for us as demand for Bangladesh products rises globally," he said, pointing out that Japanese
buyers are entering Bangladesh market.
He said another wrong perception of the government is that the RMG and PTS do not need any stimulus package, as those are still immune from the recession.
But the reality is, Chowdhury said, makers and exporters are in struggle to maintain business. Data shows only 12 percent growth in exports of Bangladesh made RMG products to the US market during January-March period of2009.
It does not necessarily indicate a good position, it happened because of the cheaper prices of the items, he pointed out.