In order to address the current crisis in the ready-made garment industry, the main driving force of the economy, and to ensure the salaries and bonuses of workers and employees on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, BGMEA Senior Vice President Enamul Haque Khan and Vice President Md. Shihab Uddoza Chowdhury held an emergency meeting with the Honorable Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur. The meeting was held at Bangladesh Bank Bhaban, Tuesday.
In the meeting, BGMEA leaders mentioned that the garment industry is currently going through a deep crisis due to the demand and price decline in the global market, abnormal increase in production costs and global geopolitical instability. In particular, the production working days in the 28-day month of February have come down to only 19 days due to long general holidays on the occasion of the National Assembly elections, Language Day, etc. Due to this, regular shipments are being disrupted, and the factories are facing severe financial crisis. In such a situation, paying the salaries and bonuses of workers and employees on time on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr has become a difficult challenge for entrepreneurs.
To deal with this situation, the BGMEA leaders presented the following recommendations to the Honorable Governor.
Release of outstanding cash assistance: Currently, the cash assistance applications of numerous organizations are stuck in the complexities of the Lien Bank and Bangladesh Bank audit process. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, incentives worth about Tk 5,700 crore remain outstanding in the textile and apparel sector. If this money is released quickly, the liquidity crisis of the factories will be resolved.
Priority given to SME organizations in the release of cash assistance: In the meeting, the BGMEA leaders especially emphasized on the rapid release of cash assistance money stuck in favor of small and medium (SME) industrial enterprises on a priority basis as per the list sent by the BGMEA.
Wage Support Loan: In order to facilitate the payment of salary and bonus during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, a request has been made to provide loan facilities equivalent to 2 months of wages with a grace period of 3 months and repayment in 12 months.
Policy Support: Re-introducing loan support under Packing Credit (PC) and reducing the interest rate to 7 percent; and increasing the fund of Pre-Shipment Credit Scheme from Tk 5,000 crore to Tk 10,000 crore and extending its validity till 2030.
The BGMEA leaders informed the Governor that ensuring timely payment of workers’ dues is very important for the stability of the industrial sector and the overall economic order of the country. They said that Bangladesh Bank’s prompt and timely action is highly desirable to protect this key sector of the national economy from adversity. They further said that the policy decisions that Bangladesh Bank will take in the current context will play a helpful role in providing the necessary protection to the industry, workers and the overall economy during this crisis.
Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur listened carefully to the statements of the BGMEA leaders and assured the necessary policy support from Bangladesh Bank to resolve the crisis in the garment industry.
He expressed the need to quickly release the cash assistance to the garment factories, especially SME enterprises, on a priority basis, in response to the request of the BGMEA leaders, and to take positive steps to resolve the liquidity crisis of the factories to pay the dues of the workers for the upcoming Eid.
