BGMEA for quick release of cash assistance

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has asked the Finance Department to urgently release cash assistance so they can pay their workers’ wages and bonuses before Eid.

The BGMEA said this in a letter issued recently to the Finance Department.

If the salaries, allowances and bonuses of the workers are not paid on time before Eid, a hostile atmosphere is created in the country, it mentioned.

“Many applications for cash assistance are being processed by the Bangladesh Bank to address the financial crisis in the readymade garment sector; the files should be released before Eid ul-Fitr,” according to the letter.

It is to be noted that an incentive loan of Tk 7,000 crore has been awarded to the apparel sector while Tk 30,000 crore to other industries beyond the RMG.

In this regard, BGMEA vice president Shahidullah Azim told The Business Post it might not be possible to release cash assistance before Eid, however, if the government releases the funds against those files completed, the industries will benefit.

The apex body of clothing manufacturers estimated that some $3.18 billion worth of export orders have been canceled due to the pandemic that brought the factories under pressure from discounts and deferred payments.

With improvement in the current pandemic situation, the demand in the international market is increasing and buyers are placing orders, it observed.

The RMG makers argued that they are under economic pressure; in addition to the wages and allowances of the workers, they have to pay electricity bills, gas bills and many other payments while they are hard up at the moment.

“In this situation, liquidity crisis needs to be addressed in order for businesses to survive and maintain export potential,” they pointed out.