Bangladesh: Apparel, textile sectors to get aid from stimulus package

The taskforce on recession yesterday decided to release fund from stimulus package in favour of apparel and textile sectors considering those as victim global economic downturn.
To this affect the taskforce has decided to form a committee within days to determine how much money the sectors needed to overcome the present crisis those are facing.
After a three hour long meeting of recession taskforce at NEC conference centre taskforce chairman Finance Minster AMA Muhith told newsmen that BGMEA, BKMEA and the BTMA will get fund from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package as those were found facing crisis.
"They will get short term and long term financial assistance from the government to increase their ability to face the global challenges," he said.
Muhit said the support will be provided according to details to be worked out by a working committee this month. The committee will be formed shortly, he said. "Aid will be provided in line with its recommendations."
"We called it 'a great recession' when we announced the package back in April. But the global scenario has changed since and we hope that it will not affect our economy too seriously in the long-run," Mihith said.
The finance minister said that representatives of garment industries have stated that the world recession had badly harmed their exports. "So we have decided to assist them," he added.
Muhith said, "This support package has from the start been an evolving programme. The affected sectors of our economy will be provided financial and strategic aid under the stimulus."
The government formed the 27-member recession taskforce, which includes politicians, economists and business representatives, in March, with its first meeting on March 24. In April, the government announced a proposed stimulus package of Tk 3,424 crore, based on recommendations made in the meeting.
However, the two major trade bodies of the garment industry, the BGMEA and BKMEA, were highly critical as the huge export earning apparel sector was excluded altogether from the proposed package.
The two trade bodies later welcomed the revised Tk 5,000 crore package included in the FY 2009-10 budget, although they again expressed concern that the RMG sector still received no specific allocation.
After the meeting BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy told newsmen that the government earlier did not admit the pinch of global economic recession the apparel sector was facing. But, in Wednesday's meeting government recognised it, he said.