Weavers in a tight spot for rising production costs

Md Bulbul Hossain, a resident of Jalalpur Tantipara in Pabna sadar upazila, once owned a big weaving factory featuring around 40 power looms.

However, Hossain was recently forced to shutter operations and sell off many of these looms in order to pay off his mounting debt amid the rising cost of raw materials.

"The burden of paying loan instalments in the face of increasing production costs came as a double blow," he said.

"So, I decided to close my factory after suffering huge losses for the past few years and am now considering other ways to use the space," Hossain added.

Similarly, other traditional weavers who have grown tired of suffering prolonged losses are now thinking about switching to other professions.

During a visit to Jalalpur Tantipara, this correspondent found that most weaving factories with handlooms and power looms are on the verge of closure after sustaining huge losses in their fight to survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

While speaking with The Daily Star, many weavers claimed that yarn prices have soared by as much as 70 per cent to 80 per cent in just the last six months.

Besides, the cost of dye and other raw materials also rose but the price of the finished cloth is yet to increase in line with the increase in production cost, said the weavers.

Each pound of 80-count thread currently sells for about Tk 340 to Tk 360 while it was just Tk 190 or Tk 200 a few months ago.

Meanwhile, the 60-count thread is selling for Tk 225 to Tk 240 per pound even though it was previously about Tk 150 to Tk 160.

Likewise, the 40-count thread is now valued at Tk 190 to Tk 200 per pound despite being previously priced between Tk 125 and Tk 160 per pound, they added.

"Thread prices have increased rapidly in the past few months in the name of cotton price hikes in the international market," Md Azizul Hakim, a weaver of Jalalpur village, told The Daily Star.

This abrupt spike in the price of raw materials led to a subsequent increase in production costs but since the value of finished products remains unchanged, weavers are facing huge losses, he said.

The market price of a medium quality lungi that costs about Tk 2,400 to produce now ranges between Tk 2,200 to Tk 2,300, up by roughly 30 per cent from just Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000 a few months ago.

"And after experiencing continuous losses amid the pandemic, I have already shut down 12 of my 24 looms and am now running a grocery shop beside the factory," Hakim added.

Handloom weaver Md Shanto said more than 20 of the 34 handlooms at his factory have been left lying idle while the rest will likely follow suit early next month, effectively putting him out of a job.

"We used to process more than 60 pounds of thread each day over a few months but now, we cannot process more than 100 pounds of thread per week due to production cuts in almost all handloom factories," said Md Mobarak Hossain, who works at a dying factory.

As such, most dying sheds at the factory have remained closed amid a lack of orders, he added.

About 25 lakh to 30 lakh people from both Pabna and Sirajganj are involved in the handloom weaving business in various capacities, such as factory owners, workers and traders, according to the handloom and power loom owners association.

They have been facing unbearable hardship ever since the pandemic began in March last year, they said.

About 48 per cent of the clothes produced by such looms come from Sirajganj and Pabna, the biggest handloom weaving hub in Bangladesh.

The coronavirus outbreak has already taken a massive toll on weavers but the situation could deteriorate further as they will likely continue to face losses due to rising production costs.

"More than six lakh looms once existed in Pabna and Sirajganj but now, there are just 1.8 lakh to two lakh active looms in the region," said Md Hyder Ali, vice president of the Bangladesh handloom and power loom owners association.

So far, about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of these factories have shut down while the rest are on the verge of collapse due to continuous loss.

"This massive roadblock for the industry's growth was caused by an abrupt hike in raw material costs as production costs grew by more than 30 per cent, bringing losses of about 25 per cent to 30 per cent considering the current market price," Ali said.

The cotton market has become unstable amid the ongoing pandemic while syndicates of spinning mills and importers are controlling the thread market, forcing marginal weavers to suffer losses.

"So, we urge government support for the sake of keeping the traditional clothing business of the country alive," he added.