Irregular gas supply causes 50pc decline in textile production

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Sonia H Moni
Textile production has declined around 50 per cent due to severe interruption in gas supply, said the country's apex textile sector trade body, BTMA.
"Textile sector consumes 70 per cent of the total gas used by the private sector and if the gas crisis continues for long, then the sector may not be able to sustain," Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) President Abdul Hai Sarker told the FE.
The BTMA president said, "We need 2,000 mw power per day whereas now we are getting only 1,200-1,400 mw power."
According to the BTMA, the country has 1,350 textile mills with cumulative investment of Tk 400 billion (40,000 crore), the biggest by an industrial sector.
Mr Sarker said, "Spinning, dyeing and finishing factories need 24-hour uninterrupted gas supply for full-fledged production."
He said, "Because of interrupted gas supply our production quality and quantity have fallen down and it will hamper product delivery consignment."
"We have been facing gas crisis since March, 2009 and nowadays it has reached the worst situation in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur, Savar and Narayanganj zones," he added.
Meanwhile Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said, "We are still recovering from the impact of the global recession and at this moment the gas crisis has been a big menace for us which can even cause the loss of our international market."
He said dyeing factories are the main backward linkage that complete 97 per cent work of fabric of knitwear industry.
"To complete a batch of knit product a dyeing factory needs at least 10-11 hours of uninterrupted electric supply and the lack of gas supply hampers the quality and quantity too."
He said, "Even common people are not getting proper portion of gas to cook; so how can the heavy machines of dyeing operate properly?"
He further said, "If this situation continues, then we will not be able to fulfil this year's knitwear export target of $ 7.2 billion and woven target of $ 6.5 billion."
Last year, the knitwear sector's export earning was $ 6.4 billion while woven's was $ 6.1 billion, he added.
UNB adds: People began going back to their old ways of cooking on kerosene stoves while industries are facing setbacks in the wake of worsening gas crisis, as the country’s energy sector made little progress in increasing production of the fossil fuel.
Critics blamed inefficiencies of Petrobangla management for the hardship. Sometimes, self-contradictory position by some members of the staff of the state-run petroleum corporation is learnt to be a major bottleneck hindering its progress.
According to official sources, gas production remained almost same after one year of assumption of office by the Awami League (AL) government.
Last January, when the AL government took over, the country’ s daily gas production was between 1800 and 1900 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD).
After the completion of its one year in power, the gas production remained the same as it was before. On January 6, 2009, the country produced 1,968 MMCFD. The only increase was about 70 MMCFD gas that came from Jalalabad and Moulvibazar gas fields after installation of a spur line.