Country’s specialised textile manufacturers on Sunday demanded policy support from the government including low cost financing to introduce new machineries and withdrawal of 15 per cent Value-Added Tax from local woven fabrics for overcoming challenges towards modernisation of the sector. They pointed out that the country’s specialised textile sector was mainly dependent on outdated power looms and the replacement of modern machineries was a must for the survival of the sector. ‘If the government provides policy support to the sector it would be possible to meet the export demands of woven fabrics,’ Bangladesh Specialised Textile Mills and Powerloom Industries Association president Azizul Haque said at public private dialogue on overcoming challenges towards modernisation of the textile sector. With support from European Union and Ministry of Industries, the BSTMPIA organised the dialogue at the auditorium of the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital. Azizul said that about 40,000 specialised textile mills (excluding hand looms) across the country were producing woven fabrics, sharees, Lungi, long cloth, poplin towel, shirting and suiting fabrics and about 5 million people were working in the sector. ‘About 70-75 per cent of our mills are equipped with power looms which are completely outdated and we need immediate replacement of modern rapier looms, air jet looms and water jet looms in our sector to compete in the market,’ he said. Azizul said that without financing from bank the replacement was not possible but banks were not positive to make finance to the specialised textiles sector. Moreover, the industry would not be viable with existing 14 per cent interest rate of bank loans, he said. Azizul demanded support from the government to install modern machineries in the sector within next 10 years. He also demanded low cost financing, withdrawal of 15 per cent VAT imposed on local woven fabrics in the national budget for the financial year 2016-17 and asked for authorisation to his trade body to issue certificates of production. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry vice president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said that potentials and possibilities of the specialised textiles sector were huge in producing woven fabrics as the country produces only 30 per cent of total export demand. He also emphasised on single-digit interest rate of bank loans saying that government will facilitate business, but why finance ministry will charge four per cent on bank loans. Shahjahan Ali, one of the directors of BSTMPIA, said that the sales of local fabrics and cloths decreased due to the imported Indian and Chinese fabrics and cloths. He alleged that the government met the demands of BGMEA and BTMA as the members of the bodies were affluent, but it did not meet their demands as they were ‘minor business’. Monower Hossain, director of BSTMPIA, urged the government to protect smuggling of fabrics from India for the sake of local industry. Another director of BSTMPIA, Sultan Mahmud said that ‘if the government provides low cost financing for the replacement of machineries in the sector, we will give quality fabrics and the BGMEA would not require to import woven fabrics for meeting their export demands. Speaking on the occasion, textiles and jute minister Emaj Uddin Pramanik said that the demands of the specialised textile manufacturers were logical and he would discuss with the prime minister to solve the problems of the sector.
