Staff Reporter :Leaders of County’s garment sector have laid emphasis on holding dialogue between the two major political parties to get a solution over the ongoing political crisis. “The garment sector incurs a production loss worth Tk 430 crore daily for the ongoing blockade, which is forcing the international buyers to shift their orders to other destinations. We want political solution through dialogue between the two major political leaders to save the RMG industries,” said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President M Atiqul Islam while addressing a press conference on Monday.The BGMEA organized the press conference on “Political Turmoil: Impact on RMG Industry” at its office in the city. BGMEA second vice president SM Mannan Kochi, vice president Md Shahidullah Azim and other leaders of the organization were present.Atiqul Islam said, “Foreign buyers show less interest to come to Dhaka due to political ups and down in the country, caused by the ongoing nonstop blockade, violence and deaths. Rather, they feel secure and interest to go to other destinations like India, China and Vietnam to avoid any kind of hassle here.” “Goods transportation with the help of law enforcing agencies from Dhaka to Chittagong is not a solution. We need complete protection for all backward linkage industries,” opined the BGMEA chief. He said the alarming news for Bangladesh is that the export of clothing items from Vietnam has increased by 14.5 per cent while from Cambodia by 15 per cent. “It means that we are losing our businesses to our competitors,” Islam said. “We are really concerned for political uncertainty. We want security of the garment factories,” he added.The exporters fear that if the situation continues further, it will be tough to attain the export target at US$26.89billion for the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, added the BGMEA chief. “For the last 12 days your country is in blockade. So, you are again back to the pavilion, buyers have told us. But we are trying to tell them that we are back to the business,” he said. To a questioner he said, “To maintain political stability, if needed we will meet with the BNP Chairperson.”
