Bangladesh is a well-established and renowned name in the realm of garment manufacturing and exports, next only to China. However, when it comes to home textiles, China apart, India and Pakistan are also way ahead of Bangladesh when it comes to their dominance in the global home textile market.
Like readymade garments, China is number one in home textile exports while Pakistan is in a good position as well even as Bangladesh’s share in this sector in the world market is still about only one per cent with most of the factories in Bangladesh exporting medium and general quality home textile items.
However, of late, things are changing for better for Bangladesh as the country is slowly but surely strengthening its position in home textiles.
If latest reports are something to go by, in the last few months, at least eight buyers from USA and Europe, who used to source for all their home textile requirements from China and Pakistan earlier, have reportedly started sourcing from Bangladesh now, which undoubtedly is a big achievement for Bangladesh and if industry insiders are to be believed, it is the quality of Bangladesh’s home textile offerings coupled with its competitive pricing, which have many big names in global home textile business, now turning towards Bangladesh.
It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh strengthening its foothold in home textiles — home textiles can be defined as the textiles used for home furnishing and consists of a various range of functional as well as decorative products — could not have come at a better time when the demand of home textiles has increased tremendously, thanks to COVID-19 as the pandemic has changed the consumption pattern with greater demand for home textiles now than it was earlier.
With more people working from home or staying longer at home due to various restrictions, there is reportedly higher demand for hygiene products even as retailers are also reportedly stocking more home textile products, with the trend reportedly expected to continue in the foreseeable near future.
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“The shipments from Bangladesh increased mainly because its (home textiles) use has increased,” reportedly claimed Rashed Mosharraf, General Manager for Marketing and Head of Operations of Zaber& Zubair Fabrics in an earlier interview with the media while adding because of the pandemic, people are staying indoors for longer periods, and this has increased the use of home textiles a lot.
Further, as per industry insiders, even if sales of garment items have taken a hit due to the pandemic in retail stores in the European Union and America, home textiles sales are increasing — the global market size of home textiles is currently more than US $ 104 billion and by 2025, it is expected to touch US $ 133 billion — and, apart from the American, European and Canadian markets, the export of home textiles has also reportedly been increasing in the Asian and Australian markets, exporters said.
This, in turn, is countering the decrease in sales of fabrics and sheets used in hotels and airplanes during the pandemic because of the decline of businesses in the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors.
This trend of an increasing inflow of work orders from international retailers and brands is being propelled by higher demand, especially from hospitals, said Mosharraf even as industry insiders say Bangladesh has become a major source for home textile because of massive investments made by local entrepreneurs, as a result of which, local manufacturers can now supply a vast quantity of buyers’ overall requirements.
More than Taka 25,000 crore has been invested in the homes textile sector over the last couple of decades in Bangladesh, said Monsoor Ahmed, Secretary of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
Meanwhile, as per the Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA), the eight new buyers that have started business with Bangladesh in the last six months include the well-known Standard Textile in the United States.
Speaking to the media, Chairman of BTTLMEA, M Shahadat Hossain underlined: “Our company has started business with more than one exporter, including Towel Tex. The company used to import home textiles from Pakistan,” while reports suggest that Noman Group, which is the largest home textile exporter in Bangladesh, has recently got a new buyer even as BTTLMEA Chairman reportedly claimed that more international companies are considering purchasing home textile items from Bangladesh.
Some buyers are not getting products as per their demand from Pakistan and China; as a result, there is a good prospect here for us, stated M Shahadat Hossain further.
However, notwithstanding the prospects, home textile sector in Bangladesh is apparently beset with its own share of problems in the form of rising raw material and fuel prices that are hurting
the industry.
The continuous rise in yarn prices over the last one year has worried the entrepreneurs in the home textiles sector even as buyers are not willing to share the extra cost, as a result of which, many producers are being forced to take orders at lower prices, claimed many in the industry, who added that the type of home textiles Bangladesh exports, including towels, is made mainly of 10 counts and 16 counts yarn, prices of which have reportedly gone up by around 54 per cent and 78 per cent respectively, lately.
This has the local spinners creating an artificial crisis based on the rising cotton price scenario, alleged some while the BTTLMEA, in this regard, has reportedly sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance seeking permission to import two types of yarns with duty-free facility for the terry-towel factories which do not have bond license through back-to-back LCs even as current rules mandate that companies with bond facility can import yarn or cloth with duty-free facility on condition of export.
They can also purchase yarn from local spinners with the same facility through back-to-back LCs; but in case of import, duty has to be paid even as the BTTLMEA letter maintained that around 75 per cent of the cost of towels goes to yarn purchasing, as a result of which, many producers are incurring losses even as local yarn manufacturers have reportedly refuted the charge of the home textile manufacturers that they have increased the price of yarn excessively.
Speaking to media, former Director of BTMA and Chairman of Little Group, Md Khorshed Alam, reportedly maintained that price of yarn has not increased in proportion to the price of cotton even as he claimed that price of cotton, in some cases, has doubled and went on to add further commenting on the demand of the home textile manufacturers for duty-free import of yarn, saying imports would be costlier than locally manufactured yarn.
Meanwhile, as to Bangladesh’s new-found popularity in home textiles is concerned, many in the industry maintained that if Bangladesh is getting increased work orders in home textiles,
shift of a portion of work orders from China because of its trade war with the US, is also to be credited. Reports suggest that China has also been losing work orders for garments and home textiles as well because of higher cost of production and shortage of skilled workforce in context to that in Bangladesh, which is undoubtedly a positive development for Bangladesh, to say the least.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
