Shahidullah Azeem, owner of a garment factory in Bangladesh, has laid off 20% of his workers after the first wave of corona virus. They now see the second wave of Corona in Europe and the United States as a "major crisis."
Shahidullah Azeem is not alone. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest apparel maker after China, but industry insiders say international realtors are either avoiding ordering, delaying purchasing decisions or Are demanding a reduction in prices.
"It's a disaster, we're just taking orders to survive," said Siddique-ur-Rehman, who supplies garments to international retailers including H&M and GAP.
"We expected to get orders before Christmas, but it didn't happen," he said.
Siddique-ur-Rehman said that consumers are demanding a reduction of more than 15% in prices which is very difficult to achieve.
For the fiscal year ended June, Bangladesh's garment exports totaled 27 27.94 billion, down 18 percent from a year earlier.
The July-September quarter saw a decline of less than one per cent, leading to an increase in demand for knitwear items, which accounted for half of Bangladesh's garment exports.
Saleem Usman, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said about half of the factories that manufacture textiles such as T-shirts and sweaters are finding it difficult to stay open.
"The second wave could further delay the recovery," said Saleem Usman.
According to the Central Bank of Bangladesh, low wages have helped Bangladesh build a garment industry with about 4,000 factories employing 4 million workers. Manufactured clothing is the most important part of the economy, contributing about 16% to the country's GDP.
Azeem, who owns a factory in Bangladesh that supplies garments to retailers in Europe and North America, says he has been forced to lose one in five jobs.
"This is the case with most factories. Now the second wave has begun. We don't know what the future holds for us," he said.
Experts fear that the South Asian country itself may face an increase in infections during the winter and so far 390,206 cases have been confirmed, including 5,681 deaths.
One-third of the 1 million workers have been rehabilitated since July, according to union leaders.
But many workers are struggling without overtime pay, which is often 20% of their monthly income.
"It is very difficult to meet expenses without overtime," said Banisa Begum, who works in Ghazipur on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
"I just pray that my factory gets more orders so we can survive."
