The textile millers say despite an increased production volume they are still missing the major percentage of woven fabrics demand required for readymade garments (RMG) export.
Industry owners say it is possible to increase the current share from 40 per cent to at least 60 per cent within next five years either by fresh investments or by expansion of existing capacity.
In comparison with large volume of investments a decade back the sector has failed to attract adequate fresh financing for the last five years, they say.
Secretary of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) Firoz Ahmed says big investments are not being made in the woven textile sector due to energy crisis, political uncertainty and unwillingness of the new investors as well as the financial institutions.
He, however, says following sluggish trend of fresh investments for the last several years the sector has witnessed some new investors in the current calendar year.
He also says in first eight months of last year they registered only one fresh investor but in the same time of the current year they have registered eight new investors.
The BTMA secretary says total capital machinery import in first eight months of the last calendar year was worth Tk 16.05 billion which is Tk 16.64 billion during the same period of the current year with a four per cent growth.
Former president of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) Abdus Salam Murshedy has told the FE: "We have not seen large scale investments in woven textile sector for the last several years mainly due to power crisis and some political reasons."
He says there is still opportunity for the local woven textile millers for either expanding their production capacity or making fresh investments as RMG exporters still rely on import of woven fabrics.
Mr Murshedy says, "We are almost self-sufficient in meeting demands of knitwear sector as currently more than 90 per cent knit yarns supplied to the exporters are from local sources."
He says though millers claim that their share of woven fabrics demand is still around 40 per cent, in fact they can meet only around 30 per cent of the demand.
Another BTMA office-bearer says following the scrapping of the two-stage rules of origin system under the EU (European Union) GSP (generalised system of preferences) the new investors were scared that exporters would prefer imported fabrics to local one.
But exporters still prefer local woven fabrics for its good quality, exchanging facilities and availability within a short time; so it is an opportunity for local woven textile sector to grab greater market share, he adds.
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