The recent Dhaka café attack has pushed up the cost of doing business for the local apparel makers, even if the sector has so far managed to avoid negative impact on overseas sales, industry insiders have said. They said many garment exporters are now incurring additional costs on account of extra security measures needed to avert any untoward incidents and protect foreign nationals working for the apparel industry. Besides, some apparel exporters have to go abroad for negotiating their business deals with buyers as foreigners are now reluctant to visit Bangladesh in the wake of the recent terror attacks, they said. “In the aftermath of the Dhaka café attack, we’ve been forced to go for extra security arrangements to protect our business, which has additional costs,” an exporter said. Majority of the factories have already installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to strengthen their protective measures and those who have no such system have started setting up the facility, Md Shahidullah Azim, a former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) leader, said. The additional security measures have increased expenditure, though the amount is negligible compared to export earnings. Regarding the third country meeting, he said if the meeting is in Asia, at least Tk 0.4 to 0.6 million needs to pay as couple of factory people including the merchandiser have to join the team of business dealings. Another exporter, who visited Italy twice after the attack as buyers were not willing to visit Bangladesh on security grounds, said the foreign tour has not only financial involvement, it has other implications too. Industry people also noted that though some of the exporters still have to go abroad for business negotiation, buyers and retailers and their representatives are coming to the country and the situation is improving. If buyers wish, round-the-clock security is being provided by law enforcement agencies, they added. “Buyers from England visited us in July. We applied for protection from the BGMEA and got it. Buyers were happy, but were overwhelmed by the extent of security that we provided,” Rubana Huq, managing director of Mohammadi Group, said. Bangladesh will continue to be the most efficient and competitive sourcing hub for any importers, she said. Kazi Iftekhar Hossain, president of Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA), said he visited India twice after the Gulshan attack for business dealings. Though apparel makers are going the third country, some of them are facing difficulties in getting visas for countries like Hong Kong, he said, demanding further strengthening security with professionally-trained personnel to bring back buyers’ trust. Aminul Islam, secretary general of BGBA, said, “We are now sacrificing one per cent of our three to four per cent business service charge mainly to retain the business.” Foreign buyers are now observing the situation, he said, adding an order worth $3.0 million is yet to be confirmed by a Japanese buyer even after sampling and pricing have been done. But there are exceptions. Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Group, said some senior representatives from a US buyer visited his factory Monday and they did not want any security. He claimed that the situation is improving. Industry people, however, noted after October they might see the impact of the attack on export earnings, if any. Currently, all the exporters are busy completing their shipment as there will be a week-long Eid holiday next month. Industrial Police (IP) director general Abdus Salam said that the unit is providing full-time security to global buyers during their stay in Bangladesh following requests from the BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Some of the buyers are getting security from their supplier companies as they are not willing to take police protection, the BGMEA leaders said. The IP provided 15 security escorts between July 21 and August 12 to the foreign buyers, who visited several company offices and factories in Dhaka and Gazipur, while police protection was given to more than 50 buyers in Chittagong. Most of the buyers were from the US, the UK, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Russia and Japan. During their visit to the country, the foreign buyers got police protection upon arrival at airport and to hotel, factory visit and during departure from Bangladesh, the police said.
