Focus on producing chemicals locally for use in textile sector

Speakers at a symposium and workshop on textile chemical safety and management said that the country imports chemicals worth Tk 170 billion every year for use in textile sector.

Expressing their concerns about handling, usage and transportation of such a large amount of imported chemicals every year, the discussants focused on producing some of the chemicals locally which may greatly contribute to the national ecenomy.

Environmental Sustainability in Textile Industries (ESTex), Chemical Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and Conference and Exhibition Management Services Limited (CEMS) jointly organised the two-part event styled 'Symposium and Workshop on Textile Chemical Safety and Management', at a city hotel recently.

Project Manager of ESTex and Associate Professor of Department of Chemical Engineering of BUET Dr. Mohidus Samad Khan was moderator at the programme.

He presented the current scenario of usage of chemicals in textile sector, which is worth about Tk 170 billion (Tk 17,000 crore).

Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Md. Mofizul Islam attended the programme as the chief guest while Vice President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Arshad Jamal Dipu and Second Vice President of BKMEA Fazle Shamim Ehsan were present as the special guests.

Principal and President of KnowledgeOne LLC Dr. Jack Chosnek, Professor and Head of Department of Chemical Engineering Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia, Assistant Professor of Department of Chemical Engineering Dr. Easir Arafat Khan and Country Relations Manager of Bluesign Mr. Shahan Reza were present as the resource persons.

They opined in favour of locally producing some chemoicals used by textile industries and invest more in production of import substitute chemicals.

Commerce Secretary Md. Mofizul Islam said for the betterment of future generations, good management of chemicals and conservation of environment is a must for the country.

He expressed his views about textile chemical safety and management in Bangladesh and future plans. He appreciated the ESTex for their recent activities.

At the evening session, participants took part in group exercise and later they presented their activities, followed by an open discussion.

The weaknesses in the textile industry and chemical management issues, and threats faced by the industry and solutions came up for discussion in the second session. Participants received certificates and workshop materials at the closing session of the event.