More than six hundred factories in six industrial areas of the country had to close down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 630 factories in Ashulia, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Khulna, remained closed since March, last year to April 18, this year, according to Industrial Police data.
As a result, at least two lakh workers have become unemployed. Of these factories, 130 are members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), 72 are registered with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and 23 are the members of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said that the factories started shutting down since last year due to corona virus. However, it is not possible to say exactly how many factories have been closed.
He further said that orders from abroad were stopped because of coronavirus. As a result, repayment of bank loans was also delayed.
Mohammad Hatem, first Vice President of BKMEA said, “Smaller factories were mainly closed because of the pandemic. We are trying to identify the factories and take initiative to reopen those.”
There are currently a total of 7,982 factories in six industrial zones. Of these, 2,701 are apparel based factories. Apart from this, there are 4,816 other factories, which deal in leather goods, furniture, pharmaceutical and other sectors.
According to the data, some 16 factories are located in different export processing zones under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEZA). The rest 389 are non-RMG factories.
In March 2020 last year, the government had enforced the first lockdown to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Later, export-oriented industries were instructed to operate in compliance with health guidelines.
But demand from buyers declined in countries where factory production was not active. So, some factories in the industrial areas of the country could not become operational again.
