Textile millers yesterday urged Indian businesses to invest in Bangladesh’s weaving sector as the local weavers cannot meet the demand for fabric due to inadequate production capacity. Spinners are able to supply 90 percent of the yarn needed for the knitting sector, while weavers can meet only 40 percent of the demand for fabric in the garment sector. Indian entrepreneurs can invest in the weaving sector as there is an opportunity for growth, said Fazlul Hoque, vice-president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. He led the Bangladeshi team at a discussion with the leaders of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the BTMA office in Dhaka. The Indian delegation is in Dhaka looking for investment opportunities in the textiles sector. CII, which has 7,900 registered members from both the public and private sectors, is the apex trade body in the Indian industrial sector. The garment sector would be benefitted if Indian entrepreneurs set up weaving factories in Bangladesh, as the local businesses have to import fabrics at present, which is time consuming, Hoque added. The CII delegation also expressed interest in exporting cotton to Bangladesh. The prices of cotton have declined significantly worldwide due to stockpiling in China, the largest cotton consumer in the world. India supplies 35 percent of Bangladesh’s total demand for cotton in a year.
