Africa has become the largest source of cotton for Bangladesh. Last year, Bangladesh, the largest importer of cotton in the world, met 37.06 per cent of its requirements for cotton from East and West Africa. The CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries supplied 11.35 per cent of Bangladesh’s cotton requirements, 11.14 per cent from the US, 4.65 per cent from Australia and 9.65 per cent from the rest of the world. India accounted for 26.12 per cent of Bangladesh’s cotton imports, down from more than 60 per cent two years ago.

Bangladesh’s cotton imports will continue to commensurate with expansion in spinning. Last year, Bangladesh imported 8.28 million bales of cotton. In dollar terms, the imports are worth three billion dollars. The country produced 1.65 lakh bales of cotton last fiscal year, which is less than three per cent of the country’s annual demand for ten million bales. The hope is to produce 2.5 lakh bales of cotton by 2021, which will meet nearly seven per cent of the local consumption. Cotton has helped farmers in Bangladesh cultivate land which used to previously stay fallow due to lack of irrigation facilities. Cotton imports are proving to be a major drain on foreign exchange reserves in Bangladesh.