Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh’s exports to Bhutan could rise on the back of the bilateral trade pact signed last year after shipment to the South Asian nation has already shown a significant upward trend. 

A high-powered committee will be formed by Sunday to resolve issues pertaining to payment of cash incentives to garment exporters who do not have bonded warehouse licences, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday.

Production in textile mills in some areas in Savar, Narayanganj, Dhamrai, Manikganj, Gazipur and Chattogram has been affected severely due to a shortage of gas supplies to the industrial units.

Production in the textile mills in some areas in Savar, Narayanganj, Dhamrai, Manikganj, Gazipur and Chattogram areas has been affecting severely due to shortage of gas supply in the industrial units.

Bangladesh is hopeful that it will enjoy the duty-free export benefit for a more extended period after graduating from the grouping of the least-developed countries (LDCs) as the negotiation with the World Trade Organisation is underway.

Bangladesh is gearing up to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) and amend labour laws to continue to avail duty benefits on merchandise export once it comes out of the least developed country (LDC) status, said Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh yesterday.

The prospects to resume buying cotton from Uzbekistan have improved for Bangladesh after the United States lifted the ban on sourcing the key textile raw material from the country following significant progress in ending forced labour.

With the demand for food delivery through online purchase growing fast, the government is planning to frame a policy in order to streamline the business and protect interests of all the actors in the chain, including customers and suppliers.

The flow of work orders to the garment industry is rebounding strongly on the back of the reopening of stores of retailers and brands in Europe and the US, the two main export destinations for the apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh.

The spinning industry in Bangladesh is witnessing massive investment as local entrepreneurs are either expanding their production capacities or setting up new units as the demand for garment raw materials is rising.

Earnings from merchandise exports significantly rebounded in August by 14 per cent year-on- year to reach $3.38 billion, buoyed by garment shipments, particularly knitwear items.

Garment exporters have been feeling the pinch of an unusual rise in the cost of production fuelled by hikes in yarn prices and freight charges in the wake of a recovery in export during this time of Covid-19.

The former signatories of the Accord Bangladesh have joined together to continue their legally binding commitments to workplace safety in Bangladesh and expand the programme to other countries.

The dispute between spinners and garment manufacturers was resolved after the two sides fixed the price of the widely consumed 30-carded yarn at a maximum of $4.20 per kilogram.

Garment exporters are feeling the pinch of exorbitant transport fares as the rebound in the shipment of goods thanks to the reopening global economy has raised the demand for trucks and covered vans.

Beleaguered e-commerce platform Evaly, which faces inquiries by the government, said its liabilities to customers and merchants stood at Tk 543 crore as of mid-July, which is 35 per cent higher than the amount found by an initial probe of Bangladesh Bank.

Evaly has a liability of Tk 542 crore to its customers and merchants, a top official of the commerce ministry said today.

After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, then East Pakistan was not an ideal place for local entrepreneurs to do business as non-Bangalees from West Pakistan were in complete control.

Spinners are unwilling to reduce the prices of yarn in local markets even though apparel and terry towel exporters have demanded as much in order to remain competitive at the international level.

The changeover of state power in Afghanistan may not affect business with Bangladesh as the bilateral trade volume is not that significant, said local businesspeople yesterday.