Textile mills in Bangladesh have been operating at only 30-40 percent of their total production capacity since the gas shortage started in March this year, according to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). At least three-fifths of the 1,700 BTMA member factories are in a vulnerable position due to this, the association said recently.
Mills located around Dhaka—in Narayanganj, Araihazar, Madhabdi, Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur, Sreepur, Bhaluka regions, as well as those in Chittagong and Comilla are facing an average of 12-hour shutdowns.
Textile millers are demanding uninterrupted supply of gas to continue production, BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon said.
Millers are even prepared to pay partially higher rates if the government can supply uninterrupted power to the industrial units by at least 3,000 mmcfd a day, he said.
“Even if the government will import LNG from the spot market by $30 MMBTU, the average price will reach to Tk28, but it will help our industry to survive, which is now bound to stop production up to 12 hours due to the gas crisis,” he was quoted as saying.
Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, per m3 gas price in the spot market rose up to $35 from $6-$7. The country is also witnessing a forex reserve crisis.
Khokon said the country’s primary textile sector was in a vulnerable position due to the lack of adequate gas supply.
Factories were established in remote areas but the areas have become populated and the authority provided them with gas from their primary source, which further contracted the supply, he added.
