Garment makers yesterday demanded that the government continues the 0.3 percent tax at source instead of the proposed hike to 1 percent saying the sector would be badly affected if the tax was increased.

"Although I welcome the proposed budget, as it is business-friendly, it is not textile and garment friendly," said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), at a postbudget press meet at the association's office in Dhaka.

"The export-oriented textiles and garment sector is the worst affected sector by the proposed budget. The proposed 233 percent export tax hike will only hamper growth of the sector, ” Atiqul told journalists.

The proposed tax hike goes against the proposed GDP growth target of 7 percent, as it would hamper expansion, productivity, industrialisation and investment.

Many entrepreneurs would feel discouraged to either expand their existing operations or establish new factories due to the proposed hike in tax, he said.

Although the garment export target was set at 10 percent, it grew by 2.98 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, he added.

The apparel sector in other countries like Pakistan registered growth at

8.75 percent, India at 10.58 percent and Vietnam at 13.28 percent, he said.

Moreover, the garment exporters also have to face the challenges of major currencies falling like the Euro, US dollar and the ruble.

At the joint press conference, Tapan Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said the apparel sector was able to flourish to its current position mainly due to the government's support that began in the late 80's.

"With the government's support, we not only generated employment for 4.4 million workers, but we have also identified Bangladesh as the second largest garment exporter in the world," Tapan added.

Bangladesh's garment sector has been passing through a bad time due to the prolonged political crisis in the first three months of this year and the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013; as a result, the country's export growth was lower compared to other countries in the first eleven months on the current fiscal year, he said.