Staff Reporter

More than 400 ready-made garment (RMG) factories under BGMEA and BKMEA have shut down across the country over the past three years, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir informed Parliament on Thursday.

The minister revealed the figure during a question-and-answer session in the National Parliament, chaired by Speaker Major (Retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram.

Responding to a query from Member of Parliament Ruhul Amin regarding closed RMG units, their identities, reasons for closure, and government initiatives, the Commerce Minister stated that a total of over 400 factories—including 282 BGMEA-registered and 123 BKMEA-registered units—closed down between July 2023 and June 2026. The process of compiling the complete list of these closed factories is currently underway.

Addressing the causes behind the closures, Minister Muktadir highlighted a combination of domestic and global economic headwinds. Key factors include the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East including the Israel-Palestine crisis and escalating military tensions between the US and Iran, global inflation, domestic political instability, liquidity shortages in the banking sector driven by capital flight, and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) secured by competitor nations like India and Vietnam with the European Union. Furthermore, foreign buyers’ growing preference for direct oversight has led to reduced order allocations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

To maintain Bangladesh’s footprint in the global RMG market, the minister outlined four key government incentive measures:

• A 1.50 percent alternative cash assistance in lieu of duty bonds and duty drawbacks for export-oriented domestic textiles.
• An additional 0.50 percent special assistance for textile exporters operating within the Eurozone.
• An additional 3 percent incentive for all small and medium enterprises across the knitwear, woven, and sweater sub-sectors.
• A 0.30 percent special cash support for the broader ready-made garment sector.

In response to a separate question from MP Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas regarding market inflation, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir assured the House that strict market monitoring is active nationwide. District-level special task forces and the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate are routinely conducting enforcement drives to curb hoarding, artificial supply crunches, and price gouging.

He added that the Bangladesh Competition Commission is taking steps to dismantle cartels and market syndicates, reassuring Parliament that surveillance and enforcement measures will be further intensified to keep essential commodity prices stable.