The working committee of national taskforce on recession on Tuesday recommended the government for giving 5 percent cash incentive to the ready-made garment exporters and its backward integration only for new export destinations to revive the export growth. Under the proposed rules except EU, USA and Canada, all the garment export destinations will be considered as the new markets for Bangladesh.

At present, more than 90 percent apparel items of Bangladesh is exported to the three destinations, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data said. The committee also recommended the government for extending bank loan rescheduling facility to the RMG exporters up to June of the next year at only 10 percent interest rate without any down payment, said a meeting source. The previous loan rescheduling facility date ended in September.

Recently, the government formed the eight-member working committee only for RMG and textile sectors of the taskforce committee on recession for recommending the government as the export of RMG products was declining. Earlier, the government formed a 27-member taskforce committee on recession on April 19 to cope up the fallout of the recession. For coping up with the slump in export of the country's main export earning RMG sector, the working committee also suggested the government to cut down the annual license fee to Tk 5,00,000 for operating the captive power plants.

Moreover, the committee recommended the government for giving five percent extra cash incentive for the growth of the small and medium garment industries as they play a vital supportive role for the employment generation and work as backward integration for the big companies. At the meeting, all the stakeholders agreed in principles to form an emergency participatory fund for facing any further crisis in export of RMG products. Primarily, the government will contribute Tk 200 crore and the private sector RMG exporters will contribute Tk 200 crore for forming such fund for facing the fallout of the recession. In its latest blow, more than 27 percent RMG export declined in the month of September compared with the corresponding period of the last year.

-Daily Star