“It seems that export orders are declining gradually…many entrepreneurs have failed to maintain their shipment schedules due to frequent shutdowns. Export orders worth about US$ 500 million have already got diverted to a neighboring country following the political instability,” they said in a joint statement.
The trade bodies of the apparel sector renewed their appeal to the political parties concerned to call off their Tuesday’s countrywide hartal.
“Many exporters have already faced problems like discount, cancellation, deferred payment as they failed to complete shipments in time due to the shutdowns,” the statement said.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have long been pressing the political parties concerned for refraining from enforcing hartal.
They said hartal is impeding the growth, discouraging investment, and slowing down export putting employment at risk.
The entrepreneurs said the export-oriented garment industry in the country has already been affected badly due to the global economic downtrend and gas and electricity crises.
The foreign buyers are threatening to cancel orders in case of delay, and the exporters are facing situation like discount, cancellation and deferred payment due to failure in maintaining shipment time, they said.
