Bangladesh’s imports of cotton, yarn and fabric, decreased significantly in 2023 as capacity utilisation in the country’s textile mills dropped by 50 per cent due to inadequate gas supply and slow demand for RMG in the global market. 

Compiled by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), data from the Bangladesh Bank shows, Bangladesh’s cotton imports declined by 24.85 per cent to 1.35 million tonne in 2023 from 1.80 million tonne in 2022. 

Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA, attributes this decline in cotton imports to shortage of gas in the country which forced spinners to run their units at 50 per cent capacity. The ongoing dollar crisis also prevented some spinners from importing cotton, he added. 

As per BTMA data, cotton yarn imports by Bangladesh fell 19.11 per cent to 0.92 million tonne in 2023 compared to 1.03 million tonne in 2022. 

Imports of woven fabrics fell by 14.29 per cent to 0.49 million tonne while the imports of knit fabric fell by 10.34 per cent to 0.32 million tonne during the year.

However, Bangladesh’s export earnings from the apparel sector grew by 3.67 per cent during the year. Local value addition and an increase in unit prices boosted revenue growth from the sector, observes Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA.

Increased procurement from local sources, utilisation of raw materials imported in 2022 and increase in import of artificial fibers also led to the earnings growth, Hassan adds.