Most of the readymade garment (RMG) items of Bangladesh exported to different countries of the world are based on cotton, showing its more dependency on the basic raw material and less efforts to grab the demands for value-added manmade fibre (MMF), industry people said.
With the increase of earnings through RMG export over the decades, the consumption of cotton has also been on the rise, they said.
About 74.14 per cent of the US $34.13 billion locally manufactured RMG items exported in the last fiscal year (FY '19) are made of cotton, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) data.
In FY 2008-09, the country fetched $12.34 billion from RMG exports out of which 68.67 per cent of the items were made of cotton, it showed.
A latest study report launched in July by United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) also reveals Bangladesh's high dependency on cotton based garment items exported to the United States.
Citing US's official data, the USFIA said that cotton trousers and cotton shirts with codes 347, 348, 340 and 338 have stably accounted for nearly 60 per cent of total US apparel imports from Bangladesh in the past ten years.
The US buyers consider such concentration a barrier to the country's future growth potentials despite the latter's price advantage.
When asked, BGMEA President Dr Rubana Huq termed the over-concentration on cotton-based garment manufacturing as one of the major challenges for the sustainable growth of the industry.
Over the past decade, Bangladesh's export has grown from $12.34 billion to $ 34.13 billion and it is quite obvious to expect that the sector could have grown more matured in terms of product and material diversity, she stated. But the actual scenario is completely different, she said citing data.
Considering the fact that the world clothing consumption is inclining to MMF, and the scope of value addition is higher in that segment, the BGMEA chief said, "The over concentration on cotton based apparel is not only a major drawback for us to diversify our product categories, but also a clear reflection of declining price / value addition of our products."
Citing Vietnam that has significantly diversified its fibre-mix (55 per cent MMF), the progress of Bangladesh would not be sustainable if material diversification does not happen at a significant pace, she warned.
In fiscal 2018-19, Bangladesh imported 6.9 million bales of cotton from the world to meet its demand. The country annually spent US$ 3.5 billion in importing cotton. It imports cotton mainly from African countries, India, Australia and USA while Brazil was added to its importing destination in recent years.
Fazlul Hoque, former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said the use of artificial fibres or MMF is gradually increasing.
The use of artificial fibres is not remarkable and is not currently reflected in data, it would take some years to reveal the real scenario, he noted.
According to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), the import of MMF like polyester staple, viscose and tencel is on the rise following the rising demand amid changes in the global fashion trend.
The country imported 78,208 tonnes of polyester staple fibre in 2016, up from 51,729 tonnes in 2014, according to data from Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
The import of viscose staple fibre was recorded at 29,146 tonnes in 2016, which was 18,115 tonnes in 2014.
Imports of tencel-a fibre made of trees and leaves-stood at 5,034 tonnes in 2016, according to BTMA. The number of factories producing artificial fibres has also increased, it said.
There are more than 50 units that produce polyester fibre which was only 10-12 seven years ago. There are 45 viscose staple fibre mills and 10 tencel factories.
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