Want restoration of uninterrupted supply chain
The Buyers Forum, the platform of the representatives of global brands, retailers and buyers, on Monday expressed its deep concern over the ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh and requested the government to resolve the impasse immediately.
In a meeting with the garment manufacturers at Hotel Westin in the capital the representatives of buyers and brands said their respective headquarters were observing the situation and expressed concern over the current arson attack and vandalism that interrupted supply chain.
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed attended the meeting as the Buyers Forum wanted to exchange views over the political situation with the minister.
The minister urged the buyers to stay with Bangladesh and gave assurance that the continued turmoil would not linger.
Following the meeting the commerce minister told reporters that the buyers wanted to know the latest situation and demanded restoration of uninterrupted supply chain.
‘I assured them that the ongoing turbulent situation will come down within short time and the government will take all measures to keep the transportation between Dhaka and Chittagong uninterrupted,’ Tofail said.
He said that the export growth in the readymade garment sector hampered very little due to the blockade as government took prompt initiative to transport the export goods under police protection.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Atiqul Islam said that buyers requested the minister to resolve the deadlock immediately.
The buyers’ representatives said that they wanted to stay with Bangladesh but their respective headquarters wanted to know how long the turmoil would continue, he said.
According to another BGMEA leader, the buyers’ representatives said if the situation prolonged it would give negative message across the globe and already some brands were thinking to shift their orders to other countries.
According to the BGMEA statistics that placed in the meeting, due to blockade 23 factories faced order cancellation worth $9.29 million. The factories had to incur losses worth $0.51 million for discounts, $4.49 million for shipment delay and $0.78 million for arranging air freight.
Source: New Age