Keep factories open during lockdown: Federation

Staff Correspondent

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on Friday urged the government to ensure that industrial production remains unaffected during the lockdown scheduled to be enforced after the Eid vacation.

FBCCI President Jashim Uddin said that if the industries are closed, the supply chain of food items and industrial goods would be disrupted, which would affect the consumers badly.

“I urge the government to exclude industrial activities out of the lockdown restriction for the sake of the economy and the consumers,” he said in a statement.

“Closure of factories will disrupt the supply chain which will impact both entrepreneurs and consumers.”

Due to factory closure, commodity prices may go up which will impact the lower income group badly, Jashim said.

He said the restriction guidelines mentioned nothing about pharmaceutical industries, nor gave any immunity for the life Saving drug industry.

Besides, the issued circular on lockdown has not given any immunity for tannery sector, although the tannery industry processes rawhide of sacrificial animals.

“Tanners will face problems to process raw hide which may create huge wastage if the factories remain closed just after Eid-ul Azha,” the statement added.

Mentioning the possibility of cancelation of orders from foreign buyers, Jashim said, “Due to 18-20 days long shut down of factories, foreign buyers may cancel the orders that have already been placed and the possible upcoming orders for late summer may be diverted to other countries.”

Disruption of export schedule for any particular month causes delay for months for the export-oriented sector, the FBCCI chief said.

Small enterprises will lose their resilience which can never be recovered. There is a possibility of wastage of raw materials. “Importer and producers will both be losers,” Jashim said.

The government has announced that the next lockdown will be imposed from July 23 to August 5 as the coronavirus situation shows no sign of improvement.

Already, the BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA, Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Tanners association and other associations and chambers requested the government to keep production at their factories uninterrupted. Bangladesh’s economy is doing well despite the pandemic and achieved a 6.1 per cent growth, Jashim said. “It is necessary to keep this pace of economy going,” he said.