Bangladesh could not use the cheap cotton from Uzbekistan over the last 10
years or so because of a restriction imposed by major clothing retailers due
to use of child or forced labour by the Uzbek government in cotton
harvesting.
Uzbekistan was the main source of cotton for Bangladesh before the ban was
imposed in 2007, according to spinners and cotton importers.
Nearly 60 percent of the demand for cotton in Bangladesh used to be met by
Uzbekistan, said Monsoor Ahmed, secretary of the Bangladesh Textile Mills
Association (BTMA), the platform for spinners and weavers.
The Uzbek and Turkmen governments force farmers to grow cotton and
citizens to pick cotton, all under the threat of penalty such as loss of land,
jobs, expulsion from school, and docked pay, according to Cotton Campaign,
a global rights group.
The rights group started campaigning against the use of Uzbek cotton in
2007 and nearly 170 major retailers signed the pledge.
However, no Bangladeshi importer brings cotton from Uzbekistan now or
from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries like
Turkmenistan because of use of child and forced labour in cotton harvesting.
“The Uzbek cotton is relatively cheap and the quality is good,” Ahmed said,
adding that Bangladesh could have saved at least 5 to 10 cents per pound
(480 pounds equal one bale) had it imported cotton from the former Soviet
nation.
In fiscal 2017-18, the country imported 7.1 million bales of cotton, meeting
97 percent of the demand of the country''s more than 440 spinning mills.
This year, Bangladesh will import more cotton as the demand has been
soaring with higher shipment of garment, industry people said. Moreover,
the import time was also shorter due to geographical proximity in
comparison to the African countries, Ahmed said.
“We do not use any fabrics or yarn produced from Uzbek cotton for making
garment items for at least 10 years now,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president
of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Since the discontinuation of cotton import from Uzbekistan, which is the
fifth largest producer worldwide, Bangladesh has diversified its sources to
India, Africa and the US.
Currently, Bangladesh imports 40 percent of its cotton requirement from
India, another 40 percent from African countries and 7 percent from the US.
The remaining 3 percent demand is met from domestic growers and other
sources.
Even two years ago, Bangladesh used to import nearly 60 percent of its
cotton from India because of shorter lead time, competitive prices and better
quality.
“If Bangladesh depends heavily on only one source, like India, for such an
important raw material the country may face trouble anytime for different
reasons,” Ahmed said. Bangladesh is the largest cotton importer now after
China stopped procuring cotton from abroad to support its growers and to
finish its previous stock.
Bangladesh is the second largest garment supplier worldwide after China
with its 6.5 percent market share.
Last fiscal year, the country produced 1.65 lakh bales of cotton, which can
meet less than 3 percent of the annual demand of 10 million bales.
Source: The Daily Star, Bangladesh Monday, 12 November 2018