Handlooms in dire straits
Monday, 17 November 2008
Mohsin Ali
A large number of the handloom units have reportedly been closed down in the Narsingdi district. This region, once known as the Manchester of Bangladesh for its handloom textiles, is now but a shadow of its golden past. Media reports said over a hundred thousand looms were closed down in this district in the post-independence period, throwing a large number of weavers into unemployment. The picture is no different for the handloom factories in other parts of the country.
More than half of the total national demand for fabrics, is produced by the local handloom operators. They make by common people's daily wear like saris and lungis, besides gamchas, etc. More than 10 million people are linked directly or indirectly with the handloom industries for livelihood.
This sector can be developed to create jobs at the grassroots, where people badly need work. Besides, the handloom products can be a good source of foreign currency earnings. Skull caps, lungis, gamchas, bedsheets, bedcovers, etc., produced by the handloom sector are being exported to some Middle Eastern and other countries where the overseas Bangladeshi workforce is employed in substantial numbers. Handloom made fabrics such as 'grammen check' is increasingly used to make exportable apparels by the readymade garments (RMG) industries. Local handloom-spun fabrics have substituted, to an extent, the stuff previously imported by the RMG industries. The handloom industry has much potential for further adding value for the RMG sector, to meet the market needs, both domestic and foreign. But such a potential sector, it is a pity, remains neglected with 37.6 per cent of the looms across the country reportedly not being in operations now.
The problems, facing the potential handloom industry, calls for more focused attention for its allround development. The main problem facing the handloom sector is credit. Handloom factories deserve access to institutional credit at reasonable rates with flexible repayment facility. The authorities should smash the syndicates which force the handloom operators to buy yarn, dyes and chemicals at exorbitant prices. The dumping of imported fabrics for the RMG sector in the local market and the smuggling of Indian textiles products must also be stopped to support domestic production.
A large number of the handloom units have reportedly been closed down in the Narsingdi district. This region, once known as the Manchester of Bangladesh for its handloom textiles, is now but a shadow of its golden past. Media reports said over a hundred thousand looms were closed down in this district in the post-independence period, throwing a large number of weavers into unemployment. The picture is no different for the handloom factories in other parts of the country.
More than half of the total national demand for fabrics, is produced by the local handloom operators. They make by common people's daily wear like saris and lungis, besides gamchas, etc. More than 10 million people are linked directly or indirectly with the handloom industries for livelihood.
This sector can be developed to create jobs at the grassroots, where people badly need work. Besides, the handloom products can be a good source of foreign currency earnings. Skull caps, lungis, gamchas, bedsheets, bedcovers, etc., produced by the handloom sector are being exported to some Middle Eastern and other countries where the overseas Bangladeshi workforce is employed in substantial numbers. Handloom made fabrics such as 'grammen check' is increasingly used to make exportable apparels by the readymade garments (RMG) industries. Local handloom-spun fabrics have substituted, to an extent, the stuff previously imported by the RMG industries. The handloom industry has much potential for further adding value for the RMG sector, to meet the market needs, both domestic and foreign. But such a potential sector, it is a pity, remains neglected with 37.6 per cent of the looms across the country reportedly not being in operations now.
The problems, facing the potential handloom industry, calls for more focused attention for its allround development. The main problem facing the handloom sector is credit. Handloom factories deserve access to institutional credit at reasonable rates with flexible repayment facility. The authorities should smash the syndicates which force the handloom operators to buy yarn, dyes and chemicals at exorbitant prices. The dumping of imported fabrics for the RMG sector in the local market and the smuggling of Indian textiles products must also be stopped to support domestic production.