The reaction of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) came a day after Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) at a press conference announced that it would not oppose the central bonded warehouse if individual warehouses in garment manufacturing units are closed down.

The garment manufacturers also hailed the textile mill owners' conditional support to central bonded warehouse.

In statement yesterday, BGMEA said the government is sympathetic to the needs of export-oriented RMG industry and the proposal for central bonded warehouse but due to intense opposition from BTMA the government did not take any concrete steps.

Now BTMA has announced its acceptance of the proposal and the government needs to take urgent measures to formulate necessary policies and rules to make central bonded warehouses operational considering the MFA phaseout after this year, it said.

BGMEA however rejected textile millers' proposal to close down individual warehouses prior to establishing central bonded warehouses on the basis of an allegation of possible leakage of imported duty-free fabrics stored at those warehouses.

It urged BTMA and other industry stakeholders to work together for developing modalities to eliminate such leakage from individual bonded warehouses. "If this allegation of leakage is true, then the bond system for individual textile units should also be abolished," the BGMEA statement said.

BGMEA made it clear that the central bonded warehouses will not only stock raw material and machinery for RMG, but for the entire textile and clothing value chain. "The domestic textile industry is as much dependent on imported inputs as the garment industry," read the statement.

About BTMA's observation on the opinions made at a BGMEA view exchange meeting held on May 30, the statement said those comments were made by textile and clothing industry owners, international apparel buyers, eminent economists and trade union leaders having practical knowledge.

BGMEA also opposed BTMA leaders' comment that central bonded warehouses would serve the interests of Indian textile industry. It mentioned data that shows Bangladesh imported only 27 percent of the total fabrics from India ($245 million) in 2001 and China topped the list with $441 million.

"This is a blatant attempt to create political sensation to defeat a genuine need of the export-oriented RMG industry," the BGMEA felt.