Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector has incurred a loss of 20 million dollars due to cancellation of orders, extra-burden of air freight, delays in shipments, discount and vandalism in the wake of non-stop political unrest since December 1, 2013, says a survey conducted by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Over 38 export-oriented factories have reported huge business losses in the RMG sector.
All the factories faced order cancellations worth 5.35 million dollars and had to spend additional money of over 1.56 million dollars for air shipment, the survey said. The survey also said those factories also had to pay 1.87 million extra as they failed to ship the products on time. Apart from this vandalism, which occurred during the blockades, cost the exporters 2.8 million dollars while the delays in shipment cost 9.21 million during the period.
Since November 1, the country has been going through series of blockades and hartals enforced by the Opposition, breaking the supply chain of the country. As per BGMEA, since then there were 41 days of hartal and blockades, which spoiled 41 working days in this sector, leaving this sector in deeper crisis.
