Bangladesh has the potential to produce 30 per cent of its cotton demand by expanding cultivation and investing in research and development, an expert said Saturday.
The optimistic views came on the concluding day of the Global Cotton Summit held in the city, jointly organised by Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association (BTMA) and Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA).
Dr Md Farid Uddin, executive director of Bangladesh Cotton Development Board (CDB), said that it is possible to grow 30 per cent of the demand-or 1.4 to 1.5 million bales worth Tk100 billion-if 0.2-0.25 million hectares of land could be brought under farming.
To achieve the goal, the head of the board said it needs to adopt time-befitting action plan to conduct more research and expand farming.
While presenting a paper on cotton production and its challenges in Bangladesh, he said the country imports nearly 4.2 million bales of cotton worth Tk 210 billion annually and import has been increasing every year.
The paper said cotton production has been gradually increasing in the country.
Farid said cotton land has been expanded to 52,000 hectares in the current financial year (FY'15) with an output target of 0.205 million bales.
He said cotton production was 0.144 million bales at 0.041 million hectares in FY'14 which was 0.129 million bales at 0.039 million hectares in FY'13.
Richard Pollard, chairman (rules committee) of International Cotton Association (ICA) presented a paper on the rules of ICA.
The paper said the majority of the world's cotton is traded internationally under ICA Bylaws and Rules.
The ICA's aim is to create a safe trading environment and to protect the legitimate interests of all those who trade cotton, it said.
The paper also discussed the issues like fluctuation in the market which creates difficulties for both buyers and sellers in fulfilling or complying with contractual obligations.
The paper also discussed export barriers and unperformed import contracts.
It also showed how to remove complexities related to weight, quality and L/C opening and improve relations between the traders following the ACA rules.
BTMA president Tapan Chowdhury, former president Jahangir Alamin, and vice president Showkat Aziz Russel, BCA president Muhammad Ayub, and its secretary Mehdi Ali and managing director of Reed Consulting (BD) Ltd Rodney J. Reed, among others, spoke at the summit.
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Expand farming, invest in R&D to meet 30pc national cotton demand
FE Report | Published: March 22, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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