Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) recently sent a letter addressed to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi to take required actions to curve the entry of cheap Indian yarn into Bangladesh.
With 1488 member factories BTMA has urged the government to impose anti-dumping duty on Indian yarn imports to protect the US$8 billion domestic textile industry.
The backbone of Bangladesh readymade (RMG) industry, the primary textile sector annually produces yarn worth $12 billion and the local millers supply 85% raw materials to the knitwear sector and 35% to the woven sector.
According to BTMA, Bangladeshi millers sell the widely consumed 30 carded yarn at a price between $2.80 and $2.90 per kg, whereas the same quality Indian yarn is sold between $2.60 and $2.70 per kg in Bangladesh.
Monsoor Ahmed, Secretary, BTMA said, “The Indian yarn is highly subsidized as the Indian government provides incentives in the cotton purchase and production of yarn at the mill level.”
The letter also asked the authorities to scrutinize import prices of yarn at land ports along the Bangladesh-India border.
Not to mention, during the Coronavirus pandemic India witnessed a stockpiling of unsold yarn in the inventories of hundreds of mills in India.
“In Bangladesh also, yarn worth $1.4 billion has remained unsold at the factory level over the last two months,” Monsoor told.
BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon said in the letter, Bangladesh exported $566 million worth of garment items to India in the fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 but imported $7.74 billion worth of textile-related items including raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton fabrics and textiles during the same period this year.
To cushion the COVID-19 impact Primary textile millers in the letter urge a 10% increase in cash incentives from the existing 4%.
