B'desh to decide on cotton import from other nations

12 Apr '12

2 min read

The Government of Bangladesh will soon decide on importing cotton from other countries in the wake of ban imposed by India on its cotton exports.

To discuss the matter, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has called a meeting with cotton importers, representatives of textiles and readymade garment (RMG) sectors and various Government agencies.

The meeting will discuss various ways and means that should be opted for importing cotton from other countries to save the domestic textiles sector.

The Indian Government banned exports of cotton on March 5, 2012, as it feared that the country might need to import cotton at higher prices for domestic use if exports were not restricted.

Subsequently, during his visit to India, Bangladesh Commerce Secretary requested the Indian Government to reconsider its decision and lift ban on cotton exports to Bangladesh.

However, a meeting of Group of Ministers (GoM) this week decided on continuation of the ban on cotton exports from India.

India is the world's second largest cotton producer after China and hence the ban on cotton exports is affecting the textile industry of Bangladesh, which does not produce cotton.

Hence, Bangladesh is now exploring alternative sources for importing cotton for its domestic needs. It is considering importing cotton from Uzbekistan, Australia and the US.

A MoC team will visit Uzbekistan and will also contact the US cotton council for exploring the possibility of importing cotton to meet domestic demand.

In fiscal year 2010-11, Bangladesh imported the highest number of 1.647 million bales of cotton form India, followed by 1.391 million bales from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) including Uzbekistan, 0.301 million bales from African countries and another 0.598 million bales form other countries.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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