Gerd Muller, Germany's federal minister of economic cooperation and development, recently assured full support of the German government to Bangladesh's garment sector in coping with the COVID-19 fallout. Muller said this in response to a letter from Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Huq wrote to the minister urging him to request German retailers not to cancel their orders with factories in Bangladesh.Gerd Muller, Germany's federal minister of economic cooperation and development, recently assured full support of the German government to Bangladesh's garment sector in coping with the COVID-19 fallout. Muller said this in response to a letter from Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).#
The total value for work orders cancelled from 936 factories stood at $2.58 billion a few days back, according to BGMEA. Work orders for about 800.18 million pieces of garment products have been cancelled so far, affecting the lives of 1.92 million workers, it said.
"I greatly hope that we can find an approach that will safeguard the textile industry's survival in both Bangladesh and Germany since millions of people work in that sector," Bangla media reports quoted Muller as saying in his reply.
In order to cushion the pandemic's impact on production-based countries such as Bangladesh, Germany is currently evaluating a number of support measures aimed at ensuring that firms are able to remain in business and safeguard the jobs and incomes of their workers, the letter said.
In an emergency situation such as this, the demand for apparel products, particularly protective medical clothing, is changing, he said. The BGMEA's German counterparts fear that almost a third of the country's textile industry is under threat of total collapse.
"Let me assure you that I share your concerns regarding the social distress and the threat to garment factories and their workers in Bangladesh. I response to your letter, I am informing you about my intent to pass your urgent request to the representatives of the German textile industry," Muller added.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
marketing@alchempro.com
