DHAKA: Bangladesh garment factory owner Shahidullah Azim laid off 20% of his workers in the wake of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Now watching the second wave build in Europe and the United States, Azim is staring at “an unprecedented crisis.”
He’s not alone. Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest apparel producer after China, but its industry leaders say international retailers are either refraining from placing orders, delaying buying decisions or demanding steep price cuts.
“This is a disaster. We are taking orders just to survive,” said Siddiqur Rahman, a garment supplier to international retailers including H&M and GAP Inc.
“We anticipated orders could look up before the Christmas but that didn’t happen.”
Rahman said customers were demanding price cuts of as much as 15%, making the recovery that much harder.
In the financial year that ended in June, Bangladesh’s garment exports totaled $27.94 billion, down 18% from the previous year.
There was a rebound of less than 1% in the July-September quarter, thanks to a surge in demand for knitwear items, which account for half of Bangladesh’s total garment exports.
But nearly half of factories producing knitwear products like t-shirts and sweaters are finding it difficult to remain open, said Selim Osman, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
“A second wave could further delay the recovery,” Osman said.
Low wages have helped Bangladesh build its garment industry, with some 4,000 factories employing 4 million workers. Readymade garments are a mainstay of the economy, contributing almost 16% of country’s GDP, according to the central bank.
Factory owner Azim, who supplies European and North American retailers, says he has been forced to cut one-in-five jobs.
“That’s the case for most of the factories,” he said. “Now the second wave has started. We don’t know what future holds for us.”
Experts fear the South Asian country might itself face another surge in infections during the winter, having so far confirmed 390,206 cases, including 5,681 deaths.
About a third of the one million workers who were either furloughed or laid off have been rehired since July, according to union leaders.
But many workers are struggling without overtime pay, which often accounts for 20% of their monthly income.
“Without overtime, it is too difficult to meet expenses,” said Banesa Begum, a worker in Gazipur, on the outskirt of the capital city Dhaka.
“I just pray that my factory gets more orders so that we can survive.”
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Bangladesh garment workers pray for orders as pandemic shreds exports
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Bangladesh garment workers pray for orders as pandemic shreds exports
- A garment supplier said customers were demanding price cuts of as much as 15%
- In the financial year that ended in June Bangladesh’s garment exports totaled $27.94 billion
Machado seeks Pope Leo’s support for Venezuela’s transition during Vatican meeting
- Machado is touring Europe and the United States after escaping Venezuela in early 2025
- The pope called for Venezuela to remain independent following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by US forces
ROME: Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado in a private audience at the Vatican on Monday, during which the Venezuelan leader asked him to intercede for the release of hundreds of political prisoners held in the Latin American country.
The meeting, which hadn’t been previously included in the list of Leo’s planned appointments, was later listed by the Vatican in its daily bulletin, without adding details.
Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
“Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country,” Machado said in a statement following the meeting.
“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared,” she added.
Machado also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was Nuncio in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013.
Pope Leo has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in his compound in Caracas and took him to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking.
Leo had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with “deep concern,” and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But US President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.
Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.
After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.
Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.
The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize — the Norwegian Nobel Institute — said, however, that once it’s announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.
The meeting, which hadn’t been previously included in the list of Leo’s planned appointments, was later listed by the Vatican in its daily bulletin, without adding details.
Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
“Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country,” Machado said in a statement following the meeting.
“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared,” she added.
Machado also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was Nuncio in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013.
Pope Leo has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in his compound in Caracas and took him to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking.
Leo had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with “deep concern,” and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But US President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.
Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.
After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.
Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.
The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize — the Norwegian Nobel Institute — said, however, that once it’s announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.
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