Dhaka, May 26, 2025 — In a stark warning about the country’s worsening industrial crisis, the president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Shawkat Aziz Russell, has said that up to 50% of factories in Bangladesh may shut down within the next two months if the current situation does not improve.
Speaking at a joint press conference held at the Gulshan Club on Sunday, Russell said the manufacturing sector is under unprecedented pressure due to an acute gas shortage, lack of working capital, and policy inaction.
“Just like intellectuals were hunted down in 1971, in 2025, it is not just industries but industrialists themselves who are being destroyed,” Russell stated grimly.
He criticized government advisers, comparing them to “ostriches burying their heads in the sand,” accusing them of ignoring the collapse of the industrial base.
“Factories are shutting down one after another. There’s no gas, no liquidity. If this continues, the country will face famine, and people will take to the streets,” he warned.
Russell also expressed serious doubts about whether factories would be able to pay workers’ wages and bonuses ahead of the upcoming Eid, stating that signs are already pointing to inability to meet payroll.
The event was jointly hosted by several top industry bodies, including BTMA, FBCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA, BCI, ICC Bangladesh, and BPGMEA—representing a wide cross-section of Bangladesh’s business and manufacturing sectors.
BCI President Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez echoed Russell’s concerns, stating that due to soaring bank interest rates and the gas crisis, many factories are now operating at less than 60% capacity.
“Banks are labeling us defaulters if we miss interest payments for just three months. At the same time, the government is threatening us to ensure timely salary payments,” Parvez complained.
The warning comes amid increasing fears of widespread job losses, deepening economic instability, and a looming humanitarian crisis if immediate measures are not taken.