Bangladesh’s textile and apparel sector is executing a strategic long-range roadmap to elevate domestic cotton lint production to 1.9 million bales by 2050, with an interim milestone of 500,000 bales by 2030. Currently producing over 224,000 bales annually - meeting roughly 16 per cent of domestic mill requirements - the initiative seeks to insulate the nation’s 9-million-bale readymade garment (RMG) manufacturing hub from foreign exchange vulnerabilities. In FY25–26, raw cotton imports reached 7.3 million bales, costing approximately Tk 45,000 crore. By scaling domestic cultivation across 200,000 potential hectares in uncultivated char lands and the Barind region, the Cotton Development Board (CDB) aims to save Tk 800 crore annually in foreign currency by 2030 without displacing primary food crops.

Hybrid yields and farmer incentives fuel supply resilience

To accelerate field adoption, the government allocated Tk 20 crore in direct incentives for FY2026–27, providing high-yield hybrid seeds, inputs, and farmer-card credit access to 25,000 marginal growers. Every kilogram of locally harvested lint saves roughly $4 in foreign exchange while yielding strong commercial returns for growers, states Md Rezaul Amin, Executive Director, CDB. Despite land constraints and long growing cycles posing operational challenges, integrating biotechnology and high-density hybrid varieties offers local spinning mills a predictable, cost-competitive raw material base.

Bangladesh cotton development board strategic mandate

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Cotton Development Board (CDB) conducts research, seed distribution, and agronomic support for domestic cotton production. Serving regional spinning and apparel supply chains, it plans to expand commercial acreage toward 200,000 hectares. Formed in 1972, the agency advances raw material self-reliance to strengthen textile export competitiveness.