Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) demanded its member factories to give updated data on cancelled, withheld and unpaid orders. The apex apparel trade body said in a circular on May 02. BGMEA president Faruque Hassan said, “BGMEA has established a web portal to gather information on cancelled, withheld and unpaid orders.” Hassan requesting the members to provide the related information. BGMEA highlighted that some buyers again started cancelling or withholding orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic; while several fashion brands were yet to pay earlier dues of already exported apparel.
The circular stressed that the Bangladesh RMG industry is passing through one of its toughest times in the history of RMG due to COVID-19 fallout. There is no substitute to overcoming this situation other than by working collectively with courage and caution. Faruque Hassan said local apparel makers faced a huge volume of order cancellation or withholding last year, while foreign buyers reinstated a significant volume of work orders with conditions like deferred payments and discounts. “Now, we want to know the current situation as to how much goods remain in stock as well as the amount of payments the exporters are yet to receive,” he told to a local media. He said BGMEA would compile the information received so far next week, and decide the next course of actions. The BGMEA wrote to the Edinburgh Woolen Mills (EWM) group last week over non-payment of export proceeds by its members, which made shipments to the group. “We do not have any record that our members received any payment for the goods released by you last year and for the goods lying in port,” said Hassan in the letter. He noted that outstanding bills owed by the EWM have remained unsettled for more than a year in cases of some supplier. In the letter, the BGMEA also wanted to know how and when the EWM would take delivery of the goods lying in the factories. Buyers like Debenhams and JC Penny, filed for bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, more than 32 exporters did not obtain their payments against their exported goods.
