After two elections, a cancelled ballot, and an interim government leadership in 2024, the Bangladesh Federation of Apparel Manufacturers and Exporters has finally chosen a new president. Mahmud Hasan Khan, head of the manufacturer Rising Group, takes the helm at a tense time for the industry.
This election marks the end of a complex period for the federation, which has been without an elected president for almost a year. In April 2024, industrialist SM Mannan Kochi was elected president. However, he finally withdrew for medical reasons during the summer, triggering a new election in August which crowned Khandoker Rafiqul Islam.
However, the election was finally annulled and the BGMEA leadership dissolved by government decision in October. Accusations of fraud were reported in the local press, while dialogue seemed to have broken down between the board and members. The Ministry of Commerce appointed Anwar Hossain, then deputy director of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), as interim director before “free and fair” elections.
Hasan Khan’s election comes at a delicate time for the Bangladeshi textile industry. The country is threatened by Washington with an additional 37% customs tax, on top of the 10% already applied to all supplier countries. As reported by FashionNetwork.com, Bangladesh is currently negotiating with the Trump administration to reduce these taxes. In particular, the textile industry hopes to circumvent the protectionist measures by using US-grown cotton in its production.
But there are other challenges in store for this term. The next elections are due to be held in April, which is likely to exacerbate the already highly conflictual social situation in the country. The country is facing rapid inflation, rising interest rates, and a sharp depreciation of the taka against the dollar, the currency in which most exports are traded.
The industry is counting on the completion by 2029 of the country’s first deep-water port, which will eliminate the need for Bangladeshi textile exports to transit through Colombo, in neighboring Sri Lanka, to be loaded onto ships bound for Europe or the United States.
The textile sector generates 80% of the country’s exports and 20% of its GDP, not to mention four million direct jobs. Thanks to its low wages, Bangladesh has become the European Union’s second-largest supplier and the United States’ fourth-largest supplier of textiles and clothing.
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