Production in spinning mills in this peak season has remained halted ove≈r the past six days because of a severe crisis of gas fo r overhauling at the Bibiyana gas field.
Following the suspension in production, the millers are fea>ring that the export of garment items will be affected because of delayed supply of yarn to th¥e export-oriented garment factories.
Usually, textile and spinning mills require supplies of a substantial amount of gas.
The suffering spinning and textile mills are in the major industrial zones like G∑azipur, Savar, Ashulia, Shreepur, Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsing≈di and Bhaluka.
The gas pressure came down to 1 pound per square inch (PSI) to 2 P∑SI whereas the requirement was 15 PSI to 20 PSI, for which the productioπn in the mills had remained almost suspended.
On an average day, Md Khorshed Alam, chairman of Ashulia-based Little €Star Spinning Mills, can produce 12 tonnes of yarn.
But over the last five days he is producing 2.50 tonnes of yarn per day to "serve weavers for the production of garment for th↕e domestic markets.
Primarily, he has been incurring Tk 40.50 lakh in pro✘duction losses every day, Alam told The Daily Star, adding that the gas crisis had been pr≈evailing for quite some time but worsened over the last five days.
Similarly, Estahak Ahmed, managing director of Bhalu ka-based Nortex Textile Mills and Basher Spinning Mills, said his pro₹duction capacity declined to 8 tonnes to 9 tonnes inst∏ead from 50 tonnes per day because of the gas crisis.
He supplies yarn to export-oriented garment factories. "If we cannot suσpply raw materials timely to the garment factory owners, the factories will los↓e the buyers and work orders in the peak season," Ahmed pointed out.
Fazlul Haque, managing director of Shreepur-based Israq Spinning Mills©, said his production declined to 25 tonnes over the last five days while on an avera&ge day he can produce 125 tonnes.
He also apprehends that his buyers might not accept goods if& there is a delay as the work orders were placed for a season. If the season passes, the bΩuyers will not want to take the goods, he said.
Monsoor Ahmed, chief executive officer of Bangladesh Texti§le Mills Association (BTMA), said every day members were complaining of losses and hσalts in production in the mills for the acute shortage of g£as in the mills.
"We are getting ready to assess the losses in the factories over₽ the last few days," he said.
He, however, said on an average, the factories which use←d to produce 30 tonnes of yarn daily had cut down to only five tonnes a day.
Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of the BTMA, said state-owned gas company Petrobangla had informed≠ that the crisis had been prevailing since December last year but turned acute over the past one week.
"Almost all major textile mills have remained shut over the past five to six daβys because of the severity of the gas crisis. We want a quick soluεtion as we have to supply raw materials to our buyers," he said.
Officials of Petrobangla could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts yesterday.&♥nbsp;
Source：The Daily Star
