Textile industries, especially the spinning mills, are facing stiff competition in marketing their produce as cotton yarns from the neighbouring India are making inroads into the country. According to industry sources, a large quantity of Indian yarns is being imported in the country in both formal and informal ways and being sold at low prices pushing the country’s spinning mills in a state of downfall. To save the local industries from the unhealthy competition of rising import of yarn from India, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) urged the Commissioner of Customs, Benapole to strengthen their surveillance to check surplus and unauthorised entry of Indian yarn into the country. Industry insiders said everyday a large quantity of Indian yarn of various counts is entering into the country under the disguise of a very nominal amount of sanctioned imports. “Excess amount of yarns and yarns of higher counts are being imported into the country with false declaration,” said the memo of the BTMA sent to the commissioner. Most of the spinning mills, the BTMA said, have been incurring big losses due to unabated import of Indian yarns through Benapole land port and many of them are on the verge of closure as their produce has remained unsold. Many of the mills have also reduced their production. Leaders of the primary textile manufacturing sector entrepreneurs feared that random import of Indian yarns would seriously affect local spinners who had increased their capacity to feed the export-oriented knitwear industry. The neighbouring India, they said, is dumping its low quality yarn, facilitated by recent depreciation of rupee against US dollar and government subsidy. As a result local product has failed to face this kind of uneven competition. The apex body of the country’s textile industry, BTMA, also urged the government to check leakage of fabrics and yarns from bonded warehouses saying that the low-cost leaked fabrics and yarns are flooding the local markets. According to industry sources, the country’s yarn markets at Narayanganj, Madhabdi, Baburhat, Narsingdi, Sirajganj and Pabna are now flooded with Indian products. The yarns smuggled from India, they said, are being sold at very low prices causing serious threat to local industries. Each kg of Indian yarn is now being sold at prices 15-20 per cent less than that of the local products. As a result sales of local yarns, having 40-82 counts, have fallen down substantially in recent days as Indian yarns of these counts reign in the markets. “Take measures so that none can import excess thread and yarns of different counts which are not mentioned in the documents,” said the BTMA letter urging the Benapole port authorities to monitor the issue with due importance. “Smuggling of fabrics and yarns from neighbouring India by a vested quarter is now flooding the local markets and posing a continuous threat to the local textile industry,” said an entrepreneur who runs a spinning mill. At present, local textile mills meet around 100 per cent demand for yarn at the domestic level as well as 90 per cent of the yarn demand for knitwear sub-sector of the apparel industry and 40 per cent for woven sub-sector. The country also imports required yarn from India to fill the demand-supply gap. Despite the formal import, a large amount of yarn is entering into the country to meet the growing demand. A BTMA leader said India may be a threat to the local textile industry if the government allows unabated entry of duty-free Indian yarn into country. “What we achieved during last few decades in the textile sector by investing around Tk 400 million is now under threat,” said BTMA Secretary Mansoor Ahmed who also identified acute gas and power shortage as another problem the industry is facing now. He said the government must ensure proper policy, infrastructure and necessary market protection to save the key industry of the country. “If the spinning mills are closed down, some 4.0 million people of 5.0 million families will be badly affected,” he added.
