INSIGHTS
- The requirement to fumigate cotton sent into Bangladesh from the Western Hemisphere and the United States has been reinstated by the country’s trade ministry.
- The change is predicted to hurt export competitiveness by lengthening lead times and increasing manufacturing costs for importers.
- The obligatory mandate to fumigate US cotton had been loosened by the government in February.
The need for fumigating of fumigating cotton imported from the United States and the Western Hemisphere at its ports has been reinstated by Bangladesh’s trade ministry. The action is anticipated to hurt export competitiveness and increase lead times and manufacturing costs for importers.
According to a report in a Bangladeshi daily, joint secretary for the trade ministry Mirajul Islam Ukil was unable to specify why the regulation had been reinstated after a two-monthafter two-month hiatus.
In February of this year, the government announced relaxation of the need for US cotton to be fumigated after displaying sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and boll weevil-free certifications from the US exporting authorities at domestic ports.
To save time and money, domestic importers and spinners have been requesting this.
For domestic importers, traders, and millers of cotton, the United States is a significant supply.
