DHAKA: Managing Director and Chairman of Hameem Group AK Azad, also former president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said that the readymade garment (RMG) sector is at the highest risk and will collapse due to the ongoing political turmoil in the country.

He also claimed that the order from the buyers has decreased 40 percent in January from the regular flow.

Expressing apprehension, the former business leader said many factories will be closed if the present situation continues.

The prominent businessperson came up with the assertions while talking to banglanews an exclusive interview at his office in city’s Tejgaon area on Tuesday.

According to him, this situation can put a huge impact not only in the RMG sector but also on the next budget of the country for the fiscal year 2015-16.

AK Azad further said that the buyers are not giving any fresh order as an unsafe condition has been prevailing in the country due to the shutdown and blockade sponsored by BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The businesspeople are facing loss nowadays. This will definitely hamper the total economy as well as the budget of country, he repeated the opinion.

AK Azad said that RMG sector was playing vital role in the development of the country’s economy for past few years.

The 80 percent income of the total export comes from this field, he added.

The Hameem Group chief repeated that foreign buyers are showing less interest to provide any new order as they don’t feel safe to visit our factories amid hartal-blockade violence.

Slowly but surely RMG sector is going backward in our country while India, Vietnam and other developing countries are reaching to a positive growth in this sector, AK Azad said.

He also said that last year the economic growth of RMG sector reached to 11 percent while the growth has fallen to 2 percent this year.

If this circumstance continues then the target of achieving middle income status by 2021 will be tough for us, he added.

Businesspeople of the country are being unable to continue their business properly. The production has gone down, products cannot be shipped.

Moreover, the garment workers are facing immense sufferings due to the political unrest.

The businesspeople who had taken loan are being unable to repay their installments, he said.

He further opined that the political parties of the country should not call any shutdown or blockade considering people and the economy of the country.

“We are being always questioned in front of the foreign buyers for the political unrest of our country,” he added.

The former FBCCI president urged the government to suppress the violence in a strict way and offer a friendly and safer environment for the businesspeople of the country.

There must be a way out to get rid of this dilemma, he added.

BDST: 2019 HRS, FEB 17, 2015