Flood loss funds only after assessment
Saifur says all sectors and not only BGMEA to get help
Staff Correspondent
In response to ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturers' request for a Tk 250 crore to Tk 300 crore fund to offset flood damage, Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday said such funds would be provided to all sectors of the economy, not just the RMG, upon assessment of the losses."Whether the support package for the RMG sector would be Tk 2.5 crore or Tk 250 crore will be decided after assessment of losses due to flood to all sectors, including RMG," the minister told reporters after a meeting with a delegation of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (BGMEA). In the meeting, BGMEA President Annisul Huq told Saifur that 1,200 to 1,400 RMG factories in the country are incurring $2.5 million production loss every day from the flood. He asked the minister to arrange for the central bank to disburse Tk 250 crore to Tk 300 crore to all banks to provide long-term loans on low interest rate to the RMG units. The BGMEA leaders also solicited Saifur's support in realising the recommendations of the National Co-ordination Council (NCC) to cope up with the Multifibre Agreement (MFA) phase out. The recommendations include establishment of central bonded warehouses (CBWs) in the export promotion zones and rules of origin relaxation. "We were successful in making the finance minister understand the rationale of our demands," Huq told the newsmen following the meeting. Saifur however said, "The prime minister will take the final decision on the CBWs and relaxation of rules of origin, as the NCC has already brought its recommendations to her notice." "As BGMEA and BTMA (Bangladesh Textile Mills Association) hold different opinions on the issues [of CBWs and rules of origin relaxation], the government will consider both their cases before taking a decision," the minister explained, adding, "The CBW has some merits as well as weaknesses… If the merit is overwhelming it will be accepted." Due to the current flooding, Huq said, the RMG manufacturers may fail to ship their products in due time, while 20 to 30 percent of RMG may have to be shipped by air. "Through the BBC and the CNN, we have appealed to RMG importers overseas not to cancel their orders and, if possible, to bear a part of the extra cost of air-shipment," he added. Annisul Huq also said the BGMEA, jointly with the Export Promotion Bureau, has already launched an assessment of flood damage to the RMG sector.
| 
