COUNTRY’S major industrial sectors are suffering from sluggishness as factory production slowed down to a great extent in the July-August period of 2019-20 due to a fall in exports. In October, the exports earning saw 17.19% decline to $3.07 billion and in November it was 10.70% to $3.05 billion. Factory insiders believe that the fall is driven by a negative growth in the apparel sector, which contributes to over 84% of total exports earnings, according to newspaper reports. What’s disturbing is that the fall in exports can slow the overall domestic growth and its adverse impacts will be multifaceted. In the apparel sector around 4.4 million people work. Their jobs could be uncertain if the downtrend in exports continues in the coming months.
The overall production in garment sector in July-August of 2019-20 declined 0.58 percent year-on-year to Tk 235 billion when knitwear manufacturing grew only at 0.65 percent, much lower from 5.42 percent in the previous year, as per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Already many factories have shut down for not maintaining compliance. Not only that, production in several other sectors including, cotton yarn, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods and rod and cement, also fell. Cement, which is an essential stuff of development projects, witnessed growth only at 2.28 percent in July-August this fiscal, which was 8.45 percent in the same period the previous year. The export-based industrial sectors are now facing real dilemma as domestic markets haven’t expanded keeping adjustment with their huge productions.
In the meantime all other relating factors — transport, wholesale, retail trade – have started facing crises due to the same reason. The government should take a time-befitting strategy to overcome the situation wasting no more time.
The overall production in garment sector in July-August of 2019-20 declined 0.58 percent year-on-year to Tk 235 billion when knitwear manufacturing grew only at 0.65 percent, much lower from 5.42 percent in the previous year, as per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Already many factories have shut down for not maintaining compliance. Not only that, production in several other sectors including, cotton yarn, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods and rod and cement, also fell. Cement, which is an essential stuff of development projects, witnessed growth only at 2.28 percent in July-August this fiscal, which was 8.45 percent in the same period the previous year. The export-based industrial sectors are now facing real dilemma as domestic markets haven’t expanded keeping adjustment with their huge productions.
In the meantime all other relating factors — transport, wholesale, retail trade – have started facing crises due to the same reason. The government should take a time-befitting strategy to overcome the situation wasting no more time.
