Textile leaders urge more infrastructure support

Mohammad Ali Khokon, the acting president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said investment in the textile sector has slowed down in recent times, citing the unavailability of adequate gas and good quality power and land as the main reasons. 

He made these statements while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the 15th Dhaka International Textile and Garments Machinery Exhibition, being held at the capital's Bangabandhu International Conference Center. “The improvements in the power sector are not enough to run our heavy textile industry,” he added. 

“The gas sector still has a huge deficit, which is a major concern for our primary textile sector.” 

Mentioning the government's initiative to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), BTMA urged the government to accelerate the process so that the current crisis of power can be overcome soon. 

“Textile is the mother of industries,” said State Minister for Finance MA Mannan, who was attending the ceremony as the chief guest. In response to the stakeholders' demands, he said that the government will do everything possible to boost the country's textile industry. 

The state minister also urged for assistance from the business community to help the government achieve these goals. This year's exhibition is hosting 1,200 booths booked by 1,100 exhibitors from 36 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, and many more. 

Some of the products being displayed at this years exhibition include knitting machines by leading brands such as Mayer & Cie, Karl Mayer, Pai Lung, Santoni, quality color measuring equipment by Konica Minolta, high-caliber printing machines by M&R, spinning machines by LMW, Rieter, Saurer, Schlafhorst, Truetzschler and Murata, as well as state-of-the-art weaving machines by Toyota, Picanol, Staubli, and SMIT. 

Exhibits are also scheduled to cover other accessories and technologies from leading international brands, including Loepfe, Groz-Beckert, Graf+Cie, and USTER. Jointly organized by the BTMA and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Company, this exhibition is intended to bring together all machines and technologies needed for the textile industry, from both regional and international brands under one roof. 

The organizers are hoping that this will serve as a professional trade platform to help all the buyers gain greater competitive advantage in the industry. The exhibition will end on February 11.