Bangladesh Handloom Board
Profile
- Head
- Abu Ahmed Siddiquei
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- 372
- Established
- 1978
- Legal basis
- The Bangladesh Handloom Board Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. LV of 1977); amended by the Bangladesh Handloom Board Act, 2013
BHB is navigating a dual crisis: Jamdani GI protection (first registered 2016, custodianship with BHB) remains commercially under-exploited with weavers earning Tk 10,000-12,000 per month and no EU GI filing yet; meanwhile the loom shed construction programme (8,064 sheds, FY 2025-26) and microcredit disbursements to Sirajganj and Tangail weavers continue as the primary welfare instruments. The board's own institutional footprint has expanded even as the active weaver population and loom count decline, a tension flagged by Prothom Alo and BUILD.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-10 policy Jamdani GI commercialisation gap under scrutiny: The Daily Star reported that despite Bangladesh securing the first geographical indication (GI) registration for Jamdani in 2016 and expanding the weaver base from 3,000 to 15,000 families, weavers earn only Tk 10,000-12,000 per month working 10-12 hours daily, and Bangladesh has yet to file for EU GI protection under Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, which would secure access across 27 markets via a single application. ↗↗
- 2026-02-01 policy BUILD November 2025 GI policy paper (presented to SME Development Working Committee) documented that Bangladesh has 60 registered GI products but lacks a strategic framework linking GI registration to commercialisation, export diversification, and rural livelihoods; BHB is the designated custodian for handloom GIs including Jamdani and Dhakai Muslin. The paper notes cash incentives for handicrafts and processed agro products fell 50% (July-December 2025 vs FY 2023-24), increasing pressure to use GI-based market premiums as an alternative instrument post-LDC graduation. ↗↗
- 2025-08-12 procurement BHB announced construction of 8,064 loom sheds for 8,064 individual weavers with an annual production target of approximately 4.31 crore metres of cloth, under an ADP-funded weaver welfare programme. ↗
- 2025-11-18 other Prothom Alo investigation highlighted a structural paradox: BHB's administrative headcount and office infrastructure expanded over the past decade while the number of active looms and practising weavers contracted sharply, with more than 700,000 weavers switching professions over the preceding 28 years. ↗
Provenance & notes
Established January 1978 under the Bangladesh Handloom Board Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. LV of 1977), amended by the Bangladesh Handloom Board Act, 2013. Head office: BTMC Building (5th Floor), 7-9 Kawran Bazaar, Dhaka-1215. Chairman is Abu Ahmed Siddiquei (Additional Secretary on deputation); confirmed for 2024 from bhb.gov.bd officers page and mawbiz.com.bd; no verifiable change of chairmanship found for 2026, so head_since is left null. Staff: 372 sanctioned posts (permanent + temporary), of which 237 occupied as of the most recent Prothom Alo figure; staff_count reflects sanctioned strength. Jamdani GI: Bangladesh was the first country to register Jamdani as a GI product (2016, DPDT); Dhakai Muslin GI followed in 2020 with BHB as applicant. Weaver base: 1.5 million workers cited consistently across Banglapedia, Wikipedia, and official portal; this is the standard BHB figure and includes both direct and cooperative-linked weavers. Loom shed programme (8,064 sheds) sourced from TBS News August 2025. The board serves Sirajganj (31% of national output) and Tangail (10.9%) as primary weaver districts; microcredit 5% service charge figure from academic sources cross-checked against BHB mandate documents. No FY2025-26 budget line item for BHB was found in public government budget documents; annual_budget_bdt left null. Activity score 4: BHB is a low-media-visibility entity; the Jamdani GI discourse and loom shed programme are the main traceable activities in the 90-day window.
Sources
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Bangladesh_Handloom_Board
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Handloom_Board
- http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-562.html
- https://bhb.gov.bd/pages/officers/
- https://motj.gov.bd/site/page/302ec69b-0924-42f0-ad1b-8f6f69a5f8c3/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B6-%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%81%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/government/weavers-and-looms-wane-handloom-board-expands
- https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/who-profits-bangladeshs-heritage-4170971
- https://www.thedailystar.net/life-living/fashion-beauty/news/can-heritage-fabrics-sustain-competition-the-future-4173221
- https://buildbd.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GI_Policy_Paper-18.11.25-R.pdf
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladesh-yet-benefit-gi-products-build-study-4044131
- https://www.tbsnews.net/tags/bangladesh-handloom-board-bhb
- https://www.newagebd.net/article/127699/rajshahi-silk-5-other-products-to-get-gi-tag