Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Sunday the government will come up with a special incentive package for the global financial meltdown-hit export sectors within a month.
"An incentive package will soon be announced for the sectors that are affected by the ongoing global financial crisis. Hopefully the decision will be taken within a month," Mr Muhith told newsmen after a meeting with leaders of finished leather exporters and tanners at his ministry.
Since the country's leather exporters are sufferers like some other sectors namely spinners due to global recession, the decision on payment of cash incentive is to be taken after discussion with the concerned stakeholders, he observed.
The finance minister, however, expressed the government's willingness to consider other demands raised by the leaders of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Association (BFLLGFA) and Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) during the meeting.
"They (leather exporters and tanners) have sought cash incentive for mitigating their export losses caused due to the global recession, reduction of interest rate, further extension of time by two years for rescheduling their bank loans and compensation for relocation of tanneries at Savar Leather Estate," he informed the media.
The minister noted that shifting of tannery units from the city's Hazaribag area to Savar would be, what they said, completed within the next two years.
When his attention was drawn to the resumption of the closed Adamjee Jute Mills, Muhith said, "I don't know anything about it."
The BFLLGFA chairman Rezaul Karim Ansari informed the newsmen that they had demanded Tk 2.5 billion as compensation for the relocation of tanneries to the new leather estate in Savar.
"We have also sought a 25 per cent cash incentive on the exports of leather and reduction of interest rate on bank loans with rescheduling facility in order to cope with the adverse impact of the ongoing global financial meltdown," he said.
The leather sector leaders also urged the finance minister to take necessary steps for accelerating the process of implementing the new leather estate by providing bank loans at lower rates to the tanners concerned.
The BTA chairman Harun Chowdhury said the assurance given by the finance ministry for addressing the problems of the country's tannery and leather processing units would help them cope with the global financial crisis.
However, the sector leaders said their export prices of finished leather fell by around 50 per cent while the volume of exports declined by more than 60 per cent over the past few months mainly because of the global financial recession.
