Bangladesh’s textile value chain stakeholders have renewed calls for stronger domestic cotton production and the removal of fiscal barriers, following a joint meeting between industry bodies and government officials held at the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) headquarters.
The meeting, organised by BTMA, brought together senior officials from the Bangladesh Cotton Development Board (CDB) and members of the Bangladesh Cotton Ginners Association (BCGA). It was chaired by Mohammad Khorshed Alam, Director of BTMA.
During the discussion, CDB officials underscored the strategic importance of expanding local cotton cultivation to reduce reliance on imports and enhance supply-chain resilience. They emphasised that scaling up domestic production would require improved land utilisation, greater farmer engagement, and stronger coordination among cotton growers, ginners and spinning mills.
Participants identified the government-imposed 4% source tax on domestic cotton sales as a key impediment, noting that it discourages trade in locally produced cotton. Ginners also called on Bangladeshi spinning mills to prioritise procurement from domestic ginning mills in order to strengthen local value addition within the textile ecosystem.
Technical insights on productivity enhancement and sustainable cultivation practices were shared by Mohammad Rezaual Amin, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, alongside Dr Md Gazi Golam Mortuza, Soil Fertility and Water Management Specialist, and Dr Khalequzzaman, Senior Scientific Officer at the CDB. Project-level progress updates were presented by Dr A.K.M. Harun-or-Rashid, Project Director at the CDB.
BTMA Director Mohammad Khorshed Alam highlighted the importance of ensuring that cultivable agricultural land remains productive, urging that cotton be planted on idle land where possible. He also encouraged ginning mill owners to promote integrated farming models that combine cotton cultivation with vegetables on fallow or underutilised land, with the aim of increasing farmers’ incomes.
Ziaul Hasan Chowdhury, Deputy Secretary General of BTMA, also attended the meeting, along with representatives from ginning mills operating in Kushtia, Jashore and other key cotton-producing regions of the country.
