Bangladesh has emerged the world’s largest importer of denim fabrics, with a large number of global denim brands returning to source denim products from the country. Estimates suggest that the country’s over 60 per cent of denim fabrics demand was met by imports from China.

Manufacturers require a variety of denims fabrics such as regular, knit, jacquard, printed, coloured and coated to produce jeans. Bangladesh is said to be producing 360 million yards of denim fabrics against its demand of 720 million per annum and has to heavily rely upon imports. The global demand for denim fabric is estimated to be 6.5 billion yards. 25 factories in Bangladesh are actively producing denim fabrics and few more are said to be in the process of starting production.

Bangladesh’s share in the world market is divided as 22.88 per cent in EU and 11.35 per cent in US. From FY2009 to ’14, denim exports have witnessed a rise of 11.16 per cent and the country’s denim apparel export is expected to reach $7 billion by 2021.