Pakistan textile units to be relocated to Bangladesh

Entrepreneurs of more than a dozen of Pakistani textile industries have decided to relocate their units to Bangladesh to slash their production cost by almost 50 percent, source said.

"Some home textile manufacturers from Panjab have expressed their interest to relocate industries to Bangladesh," Mir Nasir Hossain, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), told BDNEWS, briefing on his recent visit to Pakistan.

The Karachi based Daily Times newspaper quoted a Pakistani industrialist as saying that about 20 units of bedlinen, readymade garments and knitwear have finalised their plans to shift to Bangladesh shortly.

"The plans were discussed with the Bangladeshi consul-general in Karachi and with senior officials of Bangladesh during Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's latest visit to Pakistan," the Daily Times quoted him without mentioning his name. He said Pakistani textile industry owners have also visited Bangladesh recently to study the cost-effectiveness of the planned relocations.

He did not give the exact number or category of units, which had decided to move to Bangladesh. However, he said home textile and readymade garment manufacturers were among those planning to move to Bangladesh.

"The Pakistani textile millers are very serious about investing in Bangladesh. They have unofficially informed us of relocating some of their units to Bangladesh," MA Awal, President of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association President (BTMA), told BDNEWS.

He said Pakistani textile millers are eager to take the advantage of the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) to access the European Union (EU) markets. "The production cost is also lower in Bangladesh than in Pakistan," he said.

"Actually the exporters and manufacturers are really disappointed by the way our government handled the matters of anti-dumping duty with the EU and the issue of market access with the US," the Pakistani industrialist was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

He said the "failed" strategy led to imposition of non-tariff barriers by the EU. The EU had not only imposed anti-dumping duty on bed wear exports, but had also withdrawn GSP facility for Pakistan.

The Pakistani bedwear, one of the five major export items, is witnessing a sharp fall in orders from European countries after the EU in March 2004 imposed a 13.1 anti-dumping duty on imports from Pakistan.