Decision to close textile mills from February 1 postponed

Following the government's assurance, the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has temporarily postponed its previously announced decision to close all textile mills from February 1, keeping in mind the upcoming national elections and referendum.

The organization announced this decision in a press release on Thursday.

The release said that an important meeting was held last Tuesday (January 27) at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce under with Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin in chair to resolve the ongoing problems of the ready-made garments and textile sectors. The meeting specifically discussed the crisis and existing problems in the spinning sector in detail.

At the meeting, the Commerce Adviser acknowledged the legitimacy of the problems of the spinning industry and highlighted the strategic importance of this sector in the country's export trade and industrial sector. At the same time, he expressed a firm commitment on behalf of the government to find effective, realistic and fair solutions to these problems as soon as possible.

The notification said that considering the government's clear assurance, the positive progress of the ongoing talks and the overall political context of the country, BTMA has decided to postpone its previously announced program for the time being.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, Acting Chairman of Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission Abdul Gafur, Additional Secretary of the Finance Division Rahima Begum, NBR's Customs Policy Member Mubinul Kabir and senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce were present in the meeting.

BTMA President Shawkat Aziz Russell, BGMEA Acting President Selim Rahman, BKMEA Executive President Fazle Shamim Ehsan and top leaders of the relevant industry organizations also participated in the meeting. Representatives of BTMA, BGMEA and BKMEA separately presented the rationale for their respective proposals and demands.

The meeting was also informed that a coordination meeting will be held on February 3 with the participation of all stakeholders in the Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance to quickly resolve the problems of the textile and spinning sector. A final decision will be taken in this regard at that meeting.

BTMA expressed hope that the government will resolve the existing problems of the spinning sector on the basis of fairness, reality and speed. The organization believes that this will play a positive role in increasing the competitiveness of the country's export industry, securing employment and overall economic stability. The release also said that a timely program will be announced later after reviewing the situation and the progress of the discussions.