Industrial Gas and Power Crisis Threatens Bangladesh Exports
Severe gas shortages and electricity disruptions are crippling heavy industries and the crucial ready-made garment sector across key manufacturing hubs in Bangladesh. Industrial leaders warn that shipments are delayed and machinery is damaged while fixed operational costs remain unchanged.
A severe industrial crisis involving gas and electricity supply has heavily impacted manufacturing and export sectors across multiple key regions in Bangladesh, including Gazipur, Savar, Narayanganj, Chattogram, and Mymensingh. Ensuring steady utility supplies to the country's primary export-oriented ready-made garment industry and heavy industries has become an immense challenge for authorities.
According to findings highlighted by Ittefaq, irregular electricity supplies and critically low gas pressure are causing significant damage to materials inside textile and dyeing factories. Furthermore, persistent voltage drops and frequent load-shedding are actively destroying modern machinery utilized within these specialized production plants.
Due to the ongoing utility shortages, manufacturing facilities are completely unable to operate at their full operational capacity. This severe restriction on output directly hinders the ability of local producers to fulfill their industrial mandates and maintain regular production workflows across the affected regions.
Fazle Shamim Ehsan, a representative of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), addressed the severe logistical fallout from the crisis. He stated that the ongoing gas crisis is making it impossible to ship existing export orders on time, creating a major bottleneck for international deliveries.
Compounding the production slowdown, factory owners continue to face heavy fixed financial burdens. Overhead expenses such as worker salaries, building rents, and bank loan installments remain entirely unchanged despite the crippled production levels and diminished revenue generation.
In response to these compounding financial pressures, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has formally placed a demand before the government, Petrobangla, Bangladesh Bank, and the Bangladesh Employers Federation. The association has requested the opportunity to pay the utility bills for the months of June and July through twelve manageable monthly installments.
