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Textile entrepreneurs fear a sluggish growth of the sector if the opening up of the Benapole Land Port (BPL) props up smuggling of yarn.
"Now the situation is different. We should take a wait and see policy, but the smuggling of yarn through BLP will certainly retard the growth of the textile sector," said MA Awal, the chairman of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), while talking to the FE Monday last.
Sources in the textile sector said more that 24 textile mills will go into operation in the next six months with production capacity of more than 96.35 million kg of yarn annually.
The textile entrepreneurs have invested Tk 11.764 billion in new ventures, sources said adding that the investment now totalled Tk 15 billion in the textile sector having five million spindles.
The newly set up mills are going into operation with 43,1320 spindles and 12712 rotors, sources said.
But the surge in investment trend in the textile sector will suffer a setback if the government fails to stop smuggling of yarn through the BLP, they said.
The number of spindles was 1.4 million in 1994. Since then there has been a steady growth of the sector, Awal said adding that the local entrepreneurs had made huge investments after the government declared apparels a thrust sector in 1992.
However, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Hoque said the opening up of the BLP for yarn imports is unlikely to disrupt the growth of textile sector.
"It's a new a new dimension. Let's see what happens in this sector after the latest move of the government," he said.
The government restricted import of yarn and some other products through the landport on March 9, 2002 on account of BLP's infrastructural weakness, smuggling, and tax evasion by the traders in connivance with some dishonest government officials.
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