The government has revised the maximum wastage rates upwards for raw materials used in producing readymade garments (RMG) following a strong opposition from the stakeholders.
Earlier, the commerce ministry on December 19, 2021 revised the wastage rates.
The latest move came after a meeting between the commerce ministry and garment exporters on February 09 this year.
In the meeting, apparel makers, including BGMEA and BKMEA leaders, expressed their disagreement over the rates fixed on December 19 and requested for further review of the rates, sources said.
In line with that, the commerce ministry has re-fixed the maximum wastage rate on basic raw materials (yarn to fabric and to finished products) for producing knitted items, namely t-shirts, polo shirts, trousers, shorts, skirts, pyjamas and similar products, to 29 per cent, up by 2.0 per cent.
The rate, on December 19, was revised at 27 per cent.
The rate for sweaters, jumpers, pullovers, cardigans, vests, socks, gloves and similar items has been set at 16 per cent, up from 4.0 per cent.
The government, however, has fixed the highest 32 per cent wastage rate on special items such as rompers, tank tops, dresses, gowns, hoodies, lingerie and similar products - this new category was created in the December 19 circular.
The commerce ministry after its February 09 meeting issued an order to this effect, replacing the previous notification with the same issuance date of December 19.
The government in 1998 set the maximum 16 per cent wastage rate in producing RMG items from raw materials - yarn to fabric at 7.0 per cent and fabric to finished goods at 9.0 per cent.
Asked, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan welcomed the re-fixation, saying the new rate was fine for regular items.
He, however, said there were a wide range of value added items - it was not easy to fix wastage rates for all of them.
In this regard, he said they would decide the next course of action after a discussion with the ministry.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), BKMEA, and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) repeatedly demanded that the government revise the wastage rates upward to 40 per cent.
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