The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has announced the removal of 690 factories from its active membership list due to missing documentation required for membership renewal. Following a recent audit conducted by Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co., the BGMEA now reports a total of 1,806 active members in the organization.
Of the active members, 1,482 are located in the Dhaka zone — 58 of which are currently under review, while the Chittagong zone accounts for 324 active members, with 22 also under review, as detailed in the audit report.
In the 2023 BGMEA elections, a total of 2,496 voters were counted, comprising 2,064 from Dhaka and 432 from Chittagong . The audit suggests that the voter list for the upcoming 2025-2027 biannual elections may reflect the current active member count of 1,806. A senior BGMEA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, expressed optimism that the voter count will increase as many factories are expected to update their documentation during the electoral process.
BGMEA sources indicated that over the past year, more than 100 factories have closed due to financial difficulties and energy shortages, while a similar number of new factories have commenced operations.
In related news, the Commerce Ministry has extended the tenure of Md Anwar Hossain as BGMEA administrator for an additional four months, from 17th February to 16th June 2025, due to an incomplete election process. The Ministry has requested that elections be conducted before the expiration of this extended term, according to an official notification.
Hossain was initially appointed on 20th October 2023, following the resignation of SM Mannan Kochi as BGMEA president on 23rd August for medical reasons. An emergency board meeting on 24th August appointed Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Designtex Group, as interim president during a period of leadership turmoil that followed political upheavals, including the fall of the Sheikh Hasina Government after the August 5 uprising.
Kochi faced calls for his resignation from a section of BGMEA members and subsequently encountered several legal challenges, including murder charges, after the government’s collapse.
