Cotton imports from India increased 36 percent year-on-year to 2.99 million bales in 2015, according to data from Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.ndia became the largest cotton supplier to Bangladesh’s spinners and weavers thanks to the rise in imports, the industry insiders said. One bale weighs 480 pounds or 218 kilograms.
In 2015, Bangladesh imported 6.1 million bales of cotton, 49 percent of which came from India.In 2014, cotton import from India grew by 27 percent year-on-year to 2.2 million bales, which was 37 percent of that year’s total cotton import of 5.91 million bales.Cotton imports from India started climbing in 2011. Bangladesh imported total 4.37 million bales of cotton that year, of which 1.66 million bales came from India, registering a 48 percent year-on-year growth.Due to higher quality, lower prices and shorter lead-time, India has become the largest cotton sourcing country for Bangladesh, Tapan Chowdhury, president of BTMA, said at a press meet at the association’s office in Dhaka yesterdayChowdhury announced the first-ever Bangladesh India Cotton Fest 2016 to be held at Radisson hotel in Dhaka on Saturday. “We should not be too much dependent on India alone for cotton as any disruption in the supply chain could cause a lot of trouble for Bangladesh,” he said.Such disruption in cotton supply happened earlier when India imposed a ban on the fibre’s export without any prior notice during 2010 and 2011. Cotton prices then increased over 4 times to $2.6 a pound for an artificial crisis.The other reason for over-dependence on India is the presence of child labour in Uzbekistan, another major source of cotton for Bangladesh.Apart from India and Uzbekistan, Bangladesh usually imports cotton from the US and some African countries.Due to child labour, sometimes the international clothing brands and retailers show their reluctance to source garment items from the factories, which manufacture the apparel items with yarn spun from Uzbek cotton, he said.Chowdhury also said the import trend shows that India will dominate the Bangladeshi market among the other cotton growing and exporting countries in the coming days.That is why, BTMA, Bangladesh Cotton Association and Indian Cotton Association will jointly organise the Cotton Fest.
