Bangladesh: Apparel owners fear Iran-Israel war fallout on

A red-hot Middle-East turmoil fuelled by the Iran-Israel war may affect Bangladesh's garment business as global oil prices could spike and increase operational costs locally. And such production-cost escalation would bite trade returns on the country's cardinal export product-readymade garments or RMG, the bigger one of two pillars of foreign-exchange reserves, after remittance. "The Iran-Israel war could be a new challenge for the local garment industry that could result in rise in global oil prices. And sustaining the competitiveness amid such situation could be very challenging," says Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, the newly elected president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). He made the remark at the charge-handover ceremony of the BGMEA held Monday at its Uttara office in the capital. The newly elected BGMEA board of directors led by president Mahmud Hasan Khan took charge of the trade body for the term 2025-2027. Outgoing administrator Anwar Hossain and the members of Support Committee of BGMEA handed over the responsibility to Mr Khan and the new board, in a transition from the stopgap arrangement made following the July-August political change over.