If the recommendations of the Ministry of Commerce are not implemented within seven days, all spinning mills will be declared closed for an indefinite period beginning February 1, he cautioned.
He also requested the government to give $1 billion annually for the survival of the textile industry.
“We have no capacity to pay bank loan even. Now a national crisis goes on as the textile industry is at the risk of destruction,” he was quoted as telling a press conference in Dhaka.
Fifty textile mills have been shut, and other factories are operating at 50-per cent capacity, he noted.
BTMA’s present and former leaders feel the $22-billion industry now has entered the intensive care unit and requires structural rescue measures instead of simple assistance.
According to former BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon, rising operational costs and a sudden spike in taxes have pushed mill owners to the brink.
In the last budget, the textile sector paid 12.5-15-per cent tax, while in the current one, it has jumped to 27 per cent; this is a ‘death blow’ to the struggling industry, Khokon noted.
He said yarn sales now are barely enough to cover wages and gas bills, leaving no room for profit or loan repayment.
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