Published : 05 Aug 2026, 06:24 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:30 AM
Bangladesh’s garment industry has suffered a 30-40 percent drop in production capacity over the past two weeks because of a worsening gas shortage, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan has said.
Speaking after an event at Gulshan Club in Dhaka, Mahmud said the national grid was receiving around 2.65-2.7 billion cubic feet of gas daily, below demand.
“The current gas crisis is a major challenge for the garment industry. Our production capacity has fallen by 30 to 40 percent due to the energy crisis that has continued for the past two weeks.”
The crisis worsened after an Excelerate Energy-operated floating LNG terminal in Moheshkhali shut following a fire on Jul 21, cutting around 450-500 million cubic feet from daily supply.
The financial losses are significant, Mahmud said, but maintaining international buyers’ confidence is a bigger concern.
“The good news is that the government has told us the situation will improve from Aug 8 or 9. Let’s see what happens.”
Garment exports stood at $3.89 billion in July, around 2 percent below the same month last year. Mahmud said there was no reason for alarm, although energy shortages and other challenges could affect the full-year trend.
40,000 Jobs Lost
More than 100 factories have closed in two years, cutting around 40,000 jobs, Mahmud said.
He cited the Russia-Ukraine war, US tariff policies, election-related uncertainty, skill shortages and abrupt banking policy changes among the pressures.
Still, he said most workers who lost jobs had moved to other factories, overseas employment or different professions.
$100 Billion Export Goal
BGMEA wants garment exports to reach $100 billion, with $20-30 billion in domestic value addition. Khan said stronger spinning and textile industries were essential to build backward linkages.
BGMEA and BTMA signed an MoU to jointly organise the Bangladesh International Textile and Apparel Machinery Exhibition in December or January, aiming to boost technology, investment and global competitiveness.
“The textile and garment sectors are two sides of the same coin,” BTMA President Showkat Aziz said.
