Factories in the export-oriented industries should be allowed to reopen gradually for the sake of the economy, Bangladeshi business leaders and experts said on Saturday.

They called for a quick decision in this regard, if necessary, by forming sector-wise taskforce, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said in a statement.

Big-name international brands have cancelled or held up billions of dollars in orders due to the pandemic, crippling an industry that accounts for over nearly all of the South Asian country’s export earnings.

Factories shut their doors late last month but some suppliers said they were now being pushed by retailers to fulfil outstanding export orders.

In a discussion organised by the FBCCI in Dhaka, the leaders from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and other chambers and trade bodies said the industrial units should be opened gradually considering the lives and livelihoods of millions of workers.

Bangladesh’s rivals such as Cambodia, Vietnam, China and India have already opened their export-oriented industrial sector, they said, while welcoming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for announcing a stimulus package for the sector.

Salman F Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on private industry and investment, echoed the views. However, he said the factories should be opened carefully and by following the health and safety measures.

Countries like Germany and France have restarted their production lines, he said, adding that Bangladesh should follow suit through discussion with the FBCCI.

FBCCI president Sheikh Fazle Fahim said they have been working from the very beginning with the finance and commerce ministries, Prime Minister’s Office and Bangladesh Bank on how to offset the fallout of the pandemic.

Some 865 factories have so far expressed intention to resume production, said BGMEA president Rubana Huq.

Work orders worth more than $3 billion have been cancelled by the international retailers so far, she said, while seeking cooperation from all for opening factories in phases.

If the work orders are shifted to other countries for Bangladesh’s continued closure of factories, it would be very difficult to bring them back, she said.

Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur also gave his opinion in favour of opening the factories, but he called for taking appropriate safety measures.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mahbubul Alam urged the government to allow importers to release all imported goods from the port without any compensation up to this month.

Mir Nasir Hossain, Abdul Matlub Ahmad and AK Azad, three former FBCCI presidents; Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star; Matiur Rahman, editor of the daily Prothom Alo; Mozammel Babu, editor-in-chief of Ekattor Television; Manjurul Islam, chief editor of DBC News; Dewan Hanif Mahmud, editor of The Bonik Barta; Shyamal Dutta, editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj, also spoke among others.

On Sunday, hundreds of Bangladesh garment factories defied a nationwide coronavirus lockdown to reopen, raising fears that the industry’s vulnerable and largely female workforce could be exposed to the contagion.

BKMEA vice-president Mohammad Hatem said: “We have to accept coronavirus as part of life. If we don’t open factories, there will be an economic crisis.”

He said his MB Knit company had reopened part of a factory that makes clothing for Britain’s Primark and several other retailers.

Factories were “under pressure” from brands to meet export deadlines and feared the risk that billions in orders could be diverted to competing operations in countries like Vietnam or China, he said.

AFP, THE DAILY STAR (BANGLADESH)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK