Production of knitwear, the country's single largest export item, will fall at least 20 percent if the government rations gas to industrial sectors, manufacturers warned last week.
As quality of knit products absolutely depends on good dyeing, the uninterrupted gas supply must be ensured in dyeing plants, President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Hoque told a press briefing in Dhaka.
Hoque said 97 percent dyeing activities are done in local dyeing plants for producing knit items and it takes at least 11 hours to finish a dyeing process.
Hoque said the gas rationing will cast a negative impact on the industry because foreign buyers will shy away from Bangladesh.
The knitwear makers' reaction came after the government initiated a move to cut gas supply to certain industries.
The government move came to ensure adequate supply of gas to power plants to meet the power shortages, which hovers between 800-1000 MW now. The energy ministry took the move last Tuesday to ask certain industrials sector to use gas at a reduced rate.
The government has taken the move to cut gas for 6 hours from 5pm to 11pm to save 40 percent energy for rationing to other sectors.
A senior official of the Titas Gas Distribution Company said the company has already sent letters to at least 250 industrial plants to cut gas supply.
The Titas has made the plea to the industry owners to implement the government decision from Friday at the industrial level, the Titas official said.
When contacted, Annisul Huq, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said, " The government took the decision arbitrarily and we do not support the decision".
"The garment unit owners will not be able to pay salary and repay bank loans smoothly if their production is hampered," warned Huq, a garment entrepreneur.
"The knit sub sector will be hit hard significantly due to gas rationing," said Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
"If the production of knitwear reduces, many units will become sick," he said.
The BKMEA chief also said, "I think gas rationing for industries is a wrong decision. It will hamper the single largest export earning knitwear sub sector."
"So, the government should reconsider the decision," he said.
Hoque said the knitwear has emerged as the single largest export earner last year.
Hoque said the knitwear manufacturers were able to export products worth US$3.014 billion within 7 months during the July-January period against the target of $5.465 billion for the current fiscal.