Al Amin :
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have initiated to conduct a survey among its member-factories to count business losses on account of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Expressing concern over the war, the leaders of the two apex bodies of the apparel industry said that the two are emerging markets for the RMG sector.
But the local garment manufacturers are now worried about getting payments from Russian buyers as there is a ban on using SWIFT in the country.
Many manufacturers have already completed production of the ordered goods and are not able to send these to the buyers as Black Sea waterways have been shut to Russian ships and the European Union also closed airspace to the country, the entrepreneurs said.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is a Belgian cooperative society providing services related to the execution of financial transactions and payments between banks worldwide.
For example, Renaissance Group, a leading apparel exporter, has work orders worth $15 million for Russia – some goods are under production, while there are inventories too.
Following the situation, the apex bodies are conducting a survey among the apparel entrepreneurs in line with counting trade losses and fixing next course of action in this regard, the BGMEA and BKMEA leaders said.
They said that they have sent mail or SMS to the factory owners and asked them to inform the real picture of exports to Russia and payment situation of the exported goods.
Following their recommendation, the apparel bodies will fix the next course of action, they added.
BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told The New Nation on Thursday, “We are concerned about the Russia-Ukraine war as the two countries are emerging markets for us. Many of us are facing difficulties to get payment against LCs for imposition ban on SWIFT.”
“Keeping the situation in mind, we have sent mail and SMS to the member factories asking their real situation to identify next course of action,” he said.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported $665.32 million to Russia in the fiscal year 2020-2021, of which, $607 million came from apparel and textile exports.
There are more than 100 apparel makers that supply clothing for Russia directly or through a third country.
BKMEA Vice-President Fazle Ehsan Shamim said, “We are conducting a survey among the member factories and the compiled report will be placed before the government to take policies.”
