A sudden rise in demand will boost Bangladesh’s cotton imports for the first time to 9 million bales of cotton. says Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

In 2021, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton at a cost of over $3 billion. This year, cotton import will surge in the country as the export of Bangladeshi made garment items rose significantly with the gradual reopening of the global economies, he adds.

For instance, between July and December last year, the first six months of the current fiscal year, garment export grew by 28.02 per cent year-on-year to $19.90 billion.

Of the amount earned from the garment shipment, $11.16 billion came from knitwear, a 30.91 per cent rise year-on-year.

In the period, $8.73 billion came from woven, which is also 24.50 per cent higher year-on-year.