The country’s apparel exporters have demanded that the government form a stimulus fund amounting Tk 6,000 crore for paying seamstresses’ wages and bonuses for the second quarter amid the latest wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
A three-member delegation, led by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan placed the demand in a meeting with Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam on Tuesday.
Two trade bodies, BGMEA and BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association) also sent two memorandums to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on April 25 asking for low interest credits for April-June pay cheques for their workers.
Besides, BGMEA president Faruque Hassan also demanded some cash incentives before the Eid-ul-Fitr festival that could be incorporated in the ensuing budget. Such incentives is a budgetary norm for export-oriented industries to cheer up the factory owners of the country.
The government released a sum of Tk 1,831 crore in favour of the Bangladesh Bank for the payment of cash incentives or subsidy distributable among the exporters, under the expiring budget, officials said.
The government had also allocated Tk 4,000 crore fund as cash incentives for the exporters during the current fiscal year.
On September 22 of FY20, the central bank had issued a circular announcing the cash subsidy against export of products, under 37 categories.
In those memos, the trade leaders cited cases of insolvency against their shipments by some major buyers in the US and European Union countries, resulting in cancellation of many work orders.
The letters also mentioned that payment against shipments have been deferred by some EU nations as second wave of Coronavirus reigned in.
“As the export proceeds are still stuck for many shipments, we requested the government to provide us with loan so that we can pay our workers for three months,” Faruque told reporters.
He said the BGMEA did not solicit any credit to the factory owners’ accounts, rather they asked the government to pay the workers’ wages and allowances directly.
Last year, the government provided Tk10,500 crore in stimulus funds to the export-oriented garment, leather and footwear sectors for the payment of salaries and allowances at 2 per cent service charge.
The garment sector has been going through a tough time as many of the major export destinations in Europe and the US were in lockdown because of the pandemic.
The country’s export earnings fell by 0.12 per cent to $28.93 billion in the July-March period of the current financial year (2020-21) from $28.97 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
The earnings, however, grew by 12.59 per cent year-on-year in March 2021, riding on an increased shipment of readymade garments as the exports started recovering from the damages caused by the pandemic.
