The apex apparel trade body - BGMEA - has moved afresh to collect information related to cancelled, withheld or unpaid work orders to determine the current state of due payment along with shipped or manufactured merchandise goods, sources said.
They said some buyers again started cancelling or withholding orders, though not as much as they did last year, against the backdrop of the pandemic second wave; while many were yet to pay previous dues against already shipped goods.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), in a circular on May 02, requested its member factories to provide updated data on cancelled, withheld and unpaid orders.
"The apparel industry of Bangladesh is going through one of its hardest times in the history of RMG due to coronavirus fallout. There is no alternative to overcoming this situation other than by working collectively with courage and caution," read the circular, signed by BGMEA president Faruque Hassan.
The trade body has developed a web portal to collect information on cancelled, withheld and unpaid orders, he said, requesting the members to provide the related information.
When asked, the BGMEA president said local apparel makers faced a huge volume of order cancellation or withholding last year, while foreign buyers reinstated a significant volume of work orders with conditions like deferred payments and discounts.
"Now, we want to know the current situation as to how much goods remain in stock as well as the amount of payments the exporters are yet to receive," he told the FE on Wednesday.
He said they would compile the information received so far next week, and decide the next course of actions.
"From the association, we will talk to the buyers individually and also through their forums in this regard," he added.
The BGMEA wrote to the Edinburgh Woolen Mills (EWM) group last week over non-payment of export proceeds by its members, which made shipments to the group.
"We do not have any record that our members received any payment for the goods released by you last year and for the goods lying in port," the BGMEA president said in the letter.
Outstanding bills owed by the EWM have remained unsettled for more than a year in cases of some suppliers, he noted.
"We strongly urge you to immediately settle the dues of the aforementioned goods in compliance with the central bank law."
In the letter, the BGMEA also wanted to know how and when the EWM would take delivery of the goods lying in the factories.
Talking to the FE, BGMEA vice president Md Shahidullah Azim said some buyers, including Debenhams and JC Penny, filed for bankruptcy during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, more than 32 exporters did not receive their payments against their shipped or ready-to-ship goods.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice president Mohammad Hatem said he was yet to receive payments worth over US$ 1.4 million after three buyers from the European Union cancelled their work orders during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com