Interviews
Power crisis afflicts Bangladesh knitwear industry
21 Mar '12
2 min read
The supply of interrupted power and gas at low pressure has pushed around 150 knitting and dyeing units in Bangladesh on the verge of closure.
Several units have turned sick due to losses suffered on account of inadequate gas supply and continued power outages, which has over the past one year compelled these units to operate at below 67 percent of their capacity.
Many factories are now operating during night hours, rather than during day time, in order to take advantage of the better power and gas supply situation at nights.
According to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), majority of the units confronting closure are concentrated in the Gazipur and Narayangonj regions.
It is being apprehended that if same situation persists, it may not allow the industry to achieve its export target set for the current fiscal.
While they continue exploring new markets, the exporters are bemused as to how to satisfy new orders, when they are not even being able to fulfil the ones on hand, the BKMEA said.
The association said that with so many units becoming sick or facing closure threat it would difficult for the industry to sustain its growth momentum, particularly when continued crisis is apprehended to push even more units to shutdown in future.
As revealed by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics, Bangladesh's knitwear exports have been falling short to achieve their monthly export target continuously for the past four months.
The initial eight months of the current fiscal saw Bangladesh's knitwear exports touching US$ 6.297 billion, which fell short of the projected target of US$ 6.813 billion by 7.57 percent, the EPB data showed.
Several units have turned sick due to losses suffered on account of inadequate gas supply and continued power outages, which has over the past one year compelled these units to operate at below 67 percent of their capacity.
Many factories are now operating during night hours, rather than during day time, in order to take advantage of the better power and gas supply situation at nights.
According to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), majority of the units confronting closure are concentrated in the Gazipur and Narayangonj regions.
It is being apprehended that if same situation persists, it may not allow the industry to achieve its export target set for the current fiscal.
While they continue exploring new markets, the exporters are bemused as to how to satisfy new orders, when they are not even being able to fulfil the ones on hand, the BKMEA said.
The association said that with so many units becoming sick or facing closure threat it would difficult for the industry to sustain its growth momentum, particularly when continued crisis is apprehended to push even more units to shutdown in future.
As revealed by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics, Bangladesh's knitwear exports have been falling short to achieve their monthly export target continuously for the past four months.
The initial eight months of the current fiscal saw Bangladesh's knitwear exports touching US$ 6.297 billion, which fell short of the projected target of US$ 6.813 billion by 7.57 percent, the EPB data showed.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Popular News
Leave your Comments
Editor’s Pick
Esteemed Clients
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
