Surge in textile sector investment

To meet the growing demand for fabrics and yarn, Bangladeshi investors made an investment of nearly Tk 7,000 crore in the primary textile sector, the backward linkage industry for the readymade garments (RMG) sector, in the last five years.


According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills' Association (BTMA) data, local entrepreneurs invested, on average, Tk 1,400 crore per year from 2014 to 2018 in the primary textile sector to meet the demand of fabrics and yarn. During this period, 44 new textile mills also became members of the association.

BTMA president Md Mohammad Ali Khokon said the demand for yarn and fabric was high in the country as local investors made huge investments in the sector.

The primary textile sector of Bangladesh has turned into very a strong backward-linkage industry for the RMG sector.

Currently, local manufactures are capable of supplying 85 per cent  of yarn and fabric, along with 40per cent  of woven fabric, required by the knitwear sector, said Khokon.

“The total demand for textiles for the local market and export is more than 12 billion metres. Of them, only 3 billion metres are manufactured in the local market. The came from abroad in different ways,” said BTMA secretary Monsoor Ahmed.  

Monsoor Ahmed said 40 per cent of the yarn was exported from the total yarn manufactured and 30– 40 per cent of fabric was exported from the total fabric manufactured in the country.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, around 377,790 tonnes of cotton yarn was imported, while 551,388 tonnes of fabric was imported in 2018.

To give an idea of the growth of the country’s textile market, Monsoor Ahmed said there were only 341,000 spindles in 1983, but the figure rose to 13,400,000 in 2018.

“We have enough stock of textile products,” he said, adding that the illegal import of different textile products was a threat for the country’s textile sector.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released on September 11 last year, Bangladesh’s export earnings from the readymade garment sector stood at USD 5.73 billion during July and August of FY2018-19, up by 3.82 per cent compared to USD 5.52 billion in the same period a year ago.

The export earnings were 3.96 per cent higher than the target of 45.51 billion set for the month of August.

Of the total amount, knitwear products earned USD 2.91 billion, which is 1.53% higher than the USD 2.86 billion earned in the same period a year ago. Woven products earned USD 2.82 billion, up by 6.28 per cent  from USD 2.65 billion a year ago.

Raw cotton consumption is projected to increase to 6.7 million bales in FY2017-18 due to stronger sales of garments and other value-added products in both domestic and foreign markets as well, said the USDA report.

The report also said yarn and fabric consumption was expected to rise to 1.13 million tonnes and 7.4 billion metres in FY2017-18 on the basis of strong international demand for clothing due to population growth, urbanisation and disposable income growth.

According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, Bangladesh’s textile and apparel sector received in 2017 a foreign investment of USD 421.68 million, which is 15.70% higher compared to the  USD 364.44 million received in 2016.

According to BTMA data, over 86 per cent of the export earning comes from textiles and textile-related products in Bangladesh. The country has around 425 yarn manufacturing mills and around 796 fabric manufacturing mills. Here the textile sector contributes more than 13 per cent of the GDP.

Demand for quality clothing has also increased in the domestic market as wages and living standards are on the rise.

The retail market size of clothing in Bangladesh is more than USD 8 billion a year, according to industry insiders.

“This year, the demand of fabric is greater than the previous year’s. Besides, the stalls of different companies from several countries, especially China, India, Brazil, Hong Kong and Thailand, displayed different types of fabric to draw the attention of the delegates of local companies,”said Majharul Islam, manager of sales and marketing department of CEMS Bangladesh.

He was speaking about the participation of countries at the recently held Yarn & Fabric Show in Dhaka.

“The demand for fabric in the local market has increased significantly this year,” said Islam, adding that the number of stalls had increased by 30 to 40 per cent compared to last year.

“It's normal. Our exports are rising. Since the government is giving LNG supply, many more factories will come into operation and the yarn production will also grow,” said an official of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association.

Commerce minister Tipu Munshi said 81.23 per cent of the total revenue came from the garments sector in the last fiscal year. “The government is working relentlessly to generate more than USD$50 billion revenue annually from this sector by 2021," he added.

A four-day long 15th Dhaka International Yarn & Fabric Show-2019 (Winter Edition) was held from January 23 to January 26 at the International Convention City (ICCB) in the capital. It was organised by CEMS Global and the Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT TEX), China.

A total of 370 international exhibitors from over 22 countries presented their fabrics, which are ready-to-use for garments, accessories, industrial use and other applications at the exhibition.

Nurnoby Hossen, assistant manager of China-based Shaozing Chunyi Modern Textile Company Limited, told The Independent that fabric consumption in the local market had increased due to higher consumption of clothing items by the people. "We are here to exhibit our products. We have displayed three types of fabrics like Pollar fleece, Mesh, and Polly S jersey," he said.

“Last year, we got orders for around 3,000 tonnes of fabric. This year, we are expecting to get order more than last year,” he added.

An official of Purbani Yarn Dyeing Limited, a Bangladeshi company, said the demand for local yarn in the market was higher than in the previous year. “We produce around 26 tonnes of both yarn and fabric per day,” she added.

“Though the price of local yarn and fabric seems too high, the product is better than the imported one,” she said.

Md Shaharul Islam Shaharia, executive officer of China-based Bowarm Textile Company Limited, said: “We import products that are not available but have a demand in the local market.”

“Last year, we got fabric orders from local companies to the tune of around 400 tonnes. In the current fiscal year, we expect the fabric order to increase by 20–25 per cent,” he added.

Shohag, a representative of Narendra Emporis Limited of India, said they participated in the yarn and fabric expo for the first time. They were getting good response and expecting huge orders, he added.

SK Abid Mahmud, country manager of Anhui Hanlian Top Dyed Melange Yarn Company Limited, said they had several varieties of yarn. He also said there was a scope for further increase in production in the country.

Some students of the National Institute of Textile Engineering and Research (NITER) came up with their innovation in the fair.

Shahriar Shovon, a fourth-year student of the institute, told The Independent that they mainly displayed some yarn produced from waste yarns after recycling. Yarn companies do not reuse waste yarns. “We found a way to use and produce yarn from the waste yarns,” he said.
Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com

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