Bangladesh government has decided to import cotton from Sudan, a cotton-producing African country, to recover huge amount of jute export arrears that are due by the country for last 23 years. The Sudanese government too has agreed to the idea and would now export cotton to Bangladesh.
An agreement to this effect would be signed between the two countries soon. The initiative was worked upon when non-resident Sudanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Hassan E El Talib met Jute and Textile Minister Emaze Uddin Pramanik recently. While the minister asked the diplomat to pay the arrears, Hassan tabled the idea of importing cotton from Sudan. At present, Bangladesh's annual requirement of raw cotton for textile industry is estimated at around 25 lakh (480 lb) bales. Local production is only about 1 lakh bales.
The local production of cotton fulfils only 4 to 5 per cent of Bangladesh's domestic requirement while the remaining 95 to 96 per cent is being fulfilled by importing. Bangladesh imports 40 per cent raw cotton from the US, 35 per cent from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and remaining 25 per cent from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, India, Pakistan and other cotton producing countries.
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) under the ministry made shipment of jute goods, mostly jute sacks, worth about $2.5 crore to Sudan in 1992. After one year of the shipment, the Sudanese government paid only $1.1 crore and total dues with interest now stand at $16.9 crores.
