More than 300 garment factories across Bangladesh have closed amid a prolonged gas crisis, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Mohammad Hatem said on Saturday, August 22, after a meeting with businesspeople at the BKMEA office. He said disrupted production had damaged exports by 40 to 50 percent and that European buyers were moving export orders to neighbouring countries.

Hatem said gas shortages had affected different areas for a month, forcing production to halt at many factories. The Energy Ministry had assured businesses that conditions would normalize after August 10, he said, but supplies improved only slightly for two days before the situation worsened. He said a major European order was being considered for cancellation and relocation to a neighbouring country.

Business leaders presented six demands to the government. They sought permission to pay June and July gas and electricity bills in instalments over 12 months without disconnection for non-payment during that period. They also requested weekly government briefings, suspension of CNG supply to public transport, disconnection of illegal gas lines, and restraint on loan-installment collection by the government and Bangladesh Bank.