Africa overtake India as Bangladesh's largest source of cotton

Release time:

2019-05-25

According to Bangladesh's "Daily Star" report on May 14, African countries have surpassed India as Bangladesh's largest source of cotton.

According to Bangladesh's "Daily Star" report on May 14, African countries have surpassed India as Bangladesh's largest source of cotton. Bangladesh is the world's largest importer of cotton, supplying 37.06 per cent of its demand from East and West African countries in 2018, followed by India with 26.12 per cent, CIS countries with 11.35 per cent, the United States with 11.14 per cent and Australia with 4.65 per cent. The poor quality of Indian cotton is the main reason for the decline in exports to Bangladesh, and some Indian cotton traders cannot guarantee timely supply. In addition, the moisture content of Indian cotton is too high to be stored for a long time. In 2018, Bangladesh imported 8.28 million bales of cotton (equivalent to 282kg per bale) with a commodity value of about US $3 billion. Bangladesh produced 165000 bales of cotton in the 2017/18 fiscal year, less than 3% of its annual cotton demand. In order to increase local cotton production, the State Cotton Development Authority is looking for new cotton planting areas in the hills and swamps of the country.

(Source: Department of Commerce)

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