Business leaders concerned

FE Team | Published: August 23, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Jasim Uddin Haroon
Business leaders expressed Wednesday their grave concern over the prevailing student agitations at different places and urged the government to restore normalcy for the sake of smooth running of trade and commerce.
They said the country's apparel sector, which has been struggling to recover from the losses suffered during political chaos last October, might face another setback due to the current situation. The apparel sector usually exports in large volume in late August and September.
According to sources in the sector, the overseas buy orders have fallen by around 40 per cent since late last October.
The business leaders also see a negative impact on the prices of essential commodities as transportation has been disrupted by the escalating violence.
Mohammed Ali, acting president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), told the FE that the business would be affected largely due to the agitation by the students.
He said the FBCCI board of directors will hold an urgent meeting today (Thursday) to discuss the issue.
President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anowar Ul Alam Chowdhury Pervez told the FE that the sector might suffer adversely if the situation continued for some more days.
BGMEA sources said some garment factories have been damaged at Mirpur and other areas in the city by the agitated students and members of the public.
President of Bangladesh Knit Manufactures and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Md Fazlul Hoque said that he was worried about the situation and urged all parties involved in agitation to remain calm.
President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Hossain Khaled said that traders at Nowabpur, Islampur, Tantibazar and Chawkbazar are worst affected by the on-going unrest.
He said supply of machinery and raw materials has been disrupted affecting industrial productions.
"Some 75 per cent of machinery and spares are supplied from the old parts of Dhaka. So, any incident or agitation in the areas will have an adverse impact on industrial production," DCCI president added.