Due to the worldwide lockdowns to decrease the spread of COVID-19, small businesses, startups, the financial sectors, consumer demand, remittances and the ready-made garment sector all are facing negative consequences across Bangladesh.
Ready-made Garments (RMG) companies that buy from Bangladesh are closing doors all over European and American cities and as of 23 March, 264 Bangladeshi garment factories had faced cancellations. Additionally, there is also high levels of uncertainty regarding raw materials which are typically sourced from China.
Over a million Bangladeshi garment workers have been sent home without pay or have lost their jobs after western clothing brands canceled or suspended £2.4bn of existing orders. In addition, the 10 million Bangladeshis who were working in Gulf countries, Western countries, and some Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia are now having to return home.
In the farming sector, roughly 350,000 dairy farmers across Bangladesh are struggling to survive while 27,000 tonnes of milk is going unsold each day. Also, noted milk processing companies also claimed to be in trouble as the market has shrunk due to the shutdown.
Many are hoping that the Bangladesh Government announces the Tk 90bn subsidy for the farm sector to cushion coronavirus impact. The money has been allocated for fertilizer, irrigation, mechanization, marketing of products and other things necessary in agriculture.
WHO officials at a briefing on April 13 have said that,
“Lockdowns must be lifted strategically, and not all at once. However, we should be careful to adopt our guidelines considering our unique situation in Bangladesh, for gradually coming out of the lockdown, but with care”.
Published on their website in the World Economic Outlook early today, IMF has projected the country’s economic growth to be only 2% for 2020, compared to earlier projections of roughly 7%.
>Juthy Saha