DHAKA, May 11, 2023 (BSS) - Leaders of garment exporters association, transport owners associations, buying house association, freight forwarding agencies, and law enforcement agencies held a meeting to discuss ways of preventing incidents of RMG export goods theft on Dhaka-Chattogram highway.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam, Senior Vice President S.M. Mannan (Kochi), Vice President Md. Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin, Vice President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, President of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA) Kabir Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Covered-Van Truck Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association Mokbul Ahmed,

Executive President of Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association Syed Md. Bakhtiar, General Secretary Rustom Ali Khan, representatives of Bankers Association, Bangladesh among others, were present at the meeting which was organized by BGMEA at BGMEA Complex in Uttara, Dhaka today.

Jehadul Kabir, Deputy Inspector General (Operation & Crime), Industrial Police; Md, Shah Jalal, Additional DIG, Police Headquarters, Md. Mostafizur Rahman, SP, Highway Police, and other senior officials of law enforcement agencies including Highway Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and Gazipur Metropolitan Police were present at the meeting, said a press release.

In the meeting, they stressed on the need for working collaboratively to protect the interests of the apparel industry as the sector not only important for the Bangladesh's economic growth but also for the country's good image.

Expressing security concerns about the theft of RMG goods during transportation, they urged the law enforcement agencies including Highway Police, Rapid Action Battalion and District Police to increase vigilance on the Dhaka-Chattagram highway to ensure safe movement of vehicles carrying garment goods from factories to the Chattogram port.

They also requested the Police to speed up installation of CCTVs on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway to tighten security on the roads, prevent theft and find out thieves. 

The BGMEA leaders called on the Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association to ensure that GPS tracker is installed in all goods-laden cargo vans as a measure to prevent theft during RMG goods transportation.

In the meeting, they also talked about an issue that exporters often face the problem of receiving untimely payment or not getting payment for goods dispatched to foreign buyers.

The BGMEA leaders urged the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association and the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association to look after the issue and find out ways to resolve such problems.

They also requested the exporters to be careful when selecting buying houses and forwarding agencies.