Garment exporters have taken extra measures to ensure the presence of workers in factories and the timely shipment of goods during the extreme heatwave that has swept over the country since the start of April.

Many factory owners are supplying saline water to workers, shortening work shifts, and delivering health-conscious messages to workers to maintain productivity.

So far, any loss of productivity or major casualty has been averted while no incident related to the thin presence of workers or missing shipment deadlines has been recorded.

Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Narayanganj-based Plummy Fashions, said the presence of workers was good and they had been working as normal.

He added that in green factory buildings such as theirs, rooftops are usually higher so heat is trapped higher up and does not reach the floor.

Moreover, various machinery such as chillers, fans, and exhaust fans are also used to provide relief from the heat, Hoque also said.

A garment exporter who employs 10,000 workers in Gazipur said he has been serving one litre of saline water to each worker so they can stay hydrated. He also shortened work shifts so workers have more time to seek respite from the heatwave.

The exporter, asking not to be named, added that no shipments have been delayed yet.

Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said no negative impact had been noticed yet in terms of productivity and shipment of goods.

On the contrary, he said that workers feel more comfortable in factories since they do not have appliances at home which can keep them cool.

BGMEA Vice-President Md Nasir Uddin said many factories are serving lemon juice to workers to avoid the risk of dehydration. Productivity remains unaffected in factories as workers’ presence is still good, he added.

Currently, garment exporters are catering to work orders for the spring season in the western world.

They have booked a lot of work orders from buyers due to the recovery of the global supply chain from the severe fallouts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The National Retail Federation (NRF), the largest retail platform in the USA, said in a recent statement that the Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales – excluding restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline – was up 0.23 percent month-over-month and up 2.92 percent year-over-year in March.

That compared with increases of 0.27 percent month-over-month and 2.99 percent year-over-year in February, based on the first 28 days of February, the NRF also said.

Garment exports from Bangladesh may witness moderate growth of between 7 and 10 percent in 2024 after struggling to perform strongly in the outgoing year due to a global economic slowdown, exporters said a few months ago.