Empire Diaries Desk
April 30, 2020, New Delhi: Despite a fast-growing #coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh, more than 500 garment factories that supply goods to famed international brands were this week forced to reopen after a month-long lockdown to stop the spread of #Covid19.
Some of the world’s top clothing firms like Gap, Zara-owner Inditex, and H&M source their supplies from Bangladesh at dirt cheap rates and then sell the finished products around the world at exorbitant prices, thereby making a fortune.
Is this a suicidal move remote-controlled by foreign business players desperate to get Bangladesh’s congested factories reopened so that their revenue streams don’t dry up?
Bangladesh is home to around 4,000 garment factories employing 4.1 million workers, and industry groups for the sector had warned that the shutdown that began on March 26 could cause the country to lose $6 billion in export revenue this financial year.
Bangladesh, parts of which are deeply colonised by eastern and western transnational companies, has among the lowest testing rates for the coronavirus. Yet, it has already reported over 7,000 infections and nearly 200 deaths, as of now.
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