The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that Bangladesh will surpass China in the import of cotton, the main raw material for the ready-made garments and textiles sector, in the current 2024-25 trading year (August-July).
According to a USDA report released last week, Bangladesh’s cotton imports are expected to increase to 8 million bales by the end of the country’s 2024-25 marketing year. Although it was forecast last October that Bangladesh’s cotton imports in the current marketing year could be 7.8 million bales. Bangladesh imported 7.5 million 75 thousand bales of cotton in the 2023-24 trading year.
The USDA’s October report predicted that countries around the world could import 42.4 million bales of cotton in the current trading year. China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan will import 65 percent of that. China will import 8 million bales, Bangladesh 7.8 million, Vietnam 7.1 million and Pakistan 4.8 million bales, the forecast said.
However, in its February report, the organization said that China’s cotton imports could fall by up to 700,000 bales compared to the previous forecast. However, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan will import 300,000, 200,000 and 200,000 bales more cotton. This will bring China’s cotton imports to 7.3 million bales. Vietnam and Pakistan’s cotton imports will be 7.4 million and 5 million bales respectively. Ultimately, if that happens, Bangladesh will once again be the world’s top cotton importer. Bangladesh has been the world’s top cotton importer multiple times before and after the coronavirus.
According to the USDA data, Bangladesh imported 8.4 million bales of cotton in the 2021-22 trading year to meet the needs of its main export sector. China’s imports in that year were 12.7 million bales. China’s imports decreased significantly from the following year. In the 2023-24 trading year, China rebounded by importing 14.9 million bales of cotton. However, their cotton imports have decreased significantly again this year.
Despite the USDA forecast of an increase in cotton imports, the country’s textile mills owners say that most of the country’s textile mills are not operating at full capacity due to the gas crisis. This has increased production costs. Incentives were also reduced last year. In the current context, domestic yarn producers are not able to compete with Indian yarn. That is why yarn imports from India are increasing.
