A group of 36 local garment companies today threatened to file a lawsuit against Expo Freight Limited (EFL) if it fails to pay $10.21 million in arrears to local suppliers within the next 15 days.
The company is responsible for paying the arrears for goods supplied to now-bankrupt British retailer Debenhams
Legally, EFL is responsible for paying the arrears to the suppliers as it handled the shipment of goods to the now-bankrupt British retailer Debenhams, said Md Zahangir Alam, convener of the Debenhams vendors' community.
He made the remarks at a press conference held at the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) in Dhaka.
Alam said that these companies supplied garments worth $70 million before Debenhams went bankrupt due to the severe fallout from Covid-19.
"Out of the $70 million, the suppliers have received nearly $60 million over the last four years, but $10 million remains unpaid," Alam added.
Alam also mentioned that among the 36 suppliers, whose total export value exceeds $5 billion annually, many are small and medium-sized companies that cannot absorb such losses, and will face significant difficulties if the arrears are not paid on time.
