BGMEA President Faruque Hassan underscored the need for policy support of the government to seize opportunities in the coming days and thus sustaining growth momentum. 

“The RMG industry of Bangladesh is going through a crucial time when the industry has opportunities one side and a lot of challenges on the other side. To make use of the opportunities and address the challenges, we need support of the government,” he said. 

The comments came from a meeting between a delegation of BGMEA and Senior Secretary of the Finance Ministry Abdur Rouf Talukder at the Secretariat on December 27.

The BGMEA delegation also included First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam, Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam and Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin.

The BGMEA leaders said the RMG industry has been making efforts to retain its growth amid various challenges. Moreover, omicron variant is spreading across the world creating concerns among the garment exporters. 

In such a situation, the government’s policy support is necessary for the industry to address the challenges.

They requested the government to extend the payback period of the loans under the Covid response stimulus package from the existing 18 months to 36 months to help the sector to overcome the hurdles.

They urged the government to write off all debts, interest, and cost of fund charges for the 133 sick RMG factories, taking them into special consideration.