Production in more than 1,000 textile mills in the country has plummeted by 50-65 per cent over the past month due to a severe shortage of gas supply, according to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. Leaders of the textile sector claimed that production at mills situated in Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Savar, Ashulia, Maona, and various other places of the country had become almost impossible due to the gas crisis. They claimed that these mills had been experiencing gas pressures averaging 0-2 pounds a square inch for the past month, leading to damage to many advanced machinery units.
BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon told recently that 70 per cent of the mills belonging to his trade body were located in these areas. Khokon recently in letter to the Bangladesh Oil Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarkerthe urged to ensure uninterrupted gas supply on a priority basis to the country’s textile sector. In the letter, he said that it was regrettable that despite mills having paid increased gas tariffs for over a year, the gas supply had not reached the desired level.
‘As a result, production disruptions are hindering mills from meeting export orders, leading to considerable uncertainty regarding the timely payment of bonuses and wages to workers, with Eid-ul-Azha approaching,’ Khokon said.
Expressing deep concern regarding the future sustainability of mill operations, Khokon said that despite repeated appeals to relevant government departments for ensuring consistent gas supply to the mills, no progress had been made in addressing the acute gas shortage.
The letter underscored the significant contribution of the textile and clothing sector to the country’s economy and highlighted that normal production activities had been severely disrupted over the past three years due to electricity and gas shortages.
It further stated that mills had only been able to utilise an average of 40-50 per cent of their production capacity in recent months. Consequently, fabric processing costs have risen, yarn and fabric production have decreased, and overall production costs have escalated, significantly undermining the sector’s competitiveness, it said.
Khokon mentioned that this situation had directly impacted the export-oriented garment industry and if BTMA mills failed to supply yarn/cloth to garment manufacturers on time due to gas shortages, timely shipments of goods would become impossible.
As per the BTMA, almost all the spinning, weaving, dying, printing and finishing mills in the country rely on generating captive power, and their boilers also depend on gas.
Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the exports of knitwear had severely been affected by the acute shortage of gas and recent instances of load-shedding. He also said that many knitwear manufacturers in Narayanganj had been unable to meet export deadlines due to utility shortages causing delays in production.
