Although factories were reopening, trade may suffer some (representative).

Dhaka:

Garment factories in Bangladesh, expected to account for 90 percent of the country’s exports, reopened on Wednesday, hoping to pick up production due to violent protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week. Full operation will resume quickly after an interruption.

Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country after student-led protests since July have killed nearly 300 people and injured thousands.

Garment and textile factories that supply major Western brands such as H&M, Zara and Carrefour were forced to close under the curfew.

“We lost four days in total, it’s too early to assess the damage. There is very little physical damage to the factories,” Miran Ali, vice president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told Reuters.

“I hope that in the next few days we will be completely back to normal,” he said. “I’m sure our buyers will stand by us.”

He added that H&M, which buys from about 1,000 factories in Bangladesh, has already said it will not seek a discount because of the delay. The world’s second-largest fashion retailer told Reuters on Wednesday that its suppliers’ factories were gradually reopening and welcomed steps taken to bring more stability to Bangladesh.

In a factory of Armi Garments, a garment manufacturer in Dhaka, mostly female employees operated sewing machines.

“We are poor people who depend on daily wages and overtime. How will we support our families if we sit at home?” 38-year-old Razia Begum, an employee at the factory, told Reuters.

Factory manager Imadul Haque said the factory lost 228,000 pieces of production worth $107,000. In total, Ermi, which counts H&M, Japan’s Uniqlo and Britain’s Marks & Spencer among its clients, lost about $2.2 million across the three units, he said.

Although factories were reopening, trade may have suffered some. Hola Global, an Indian apparel producer that caters to Western customers, said on Monday it would shift production from Bangladesh to India for the rest of this year to avoid risk.

Pankaj Toteja, head of operations in Mumbai at Dragon Sourcing, which helps firms find suppliers, told Reuters that while he expected big brands like Zara and H&M to stick with Bangladesh, some Firms that look elsewhere may stay away.

“Once the client, then the factories have invested so much time and money that they won’t back down immediately, even with political stability. This could have a long-term impact on Bangladesh,” Toteja said. Totija said.

But Bangladesh will remain attractive because costs are 15-25% lower than elsewhere, and 0% tariffs, Toteja added.

The International Monetary Fund expects the readymade garment industry to account for 90 percent of Bangladesh’s $55 billion annual exports in fiscal 2024.

According to the World Trade Organization, Bangladesh was the third largest exporter of textiles in the world last year.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Garment Factories Reopened in Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Exits Bangladesh (T)Bangladesh Protests



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