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funds announced in the national budget for fiscal 2009-10 to help
fight the impact of global recession by next week, said the textiles
and jute minister yesterday. "We will finalise the distribution
process of the funds that have been reserved as a stimulus package
to help fight the effects of financial meltdown," said Abdul Latif
Siddiqui. "The government is keen to safeguard the textile
industry." "The government is eager to run the factories of Bangladesh
Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) that are in the red, under public
private partnership programmes. We hope this would help them
overcome losses," he added. He was speaking at a discussion on the "
Prevailing Problems of the Textile and Jute Sector", organised by the
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at
its office in Dhaka. The minister said the government would take
measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity and
reduce bank interest rates to a single digit to help maintain growth
of the textiles sector. "We are in talks with local banks to reduce
the bank interest rate down to a single digit for entrepreneurs," he
said. Abdul Hai Sarker, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills
Association (BTMA), said the government should help create backward
linkages for the sector, which would help reduce its dependence on the
import of basic raw materials. He also stressed the need for
continuous government support, both policy and financial, to the
sector. Kamran Tanvir Rahman, director of FBCCI, said the government
should provide more cash subsidy for the jute sector, as it faces a
liquidity crisis. At the same time, the government should provide a
20 percent incentive on the export of raw jute, he said. He also
said formulation of a Mandatory Packaging Act would help increase the
consumption of jute in the local market. Annisul Huq, president of
FBCCI, chaired the event.
