Terry towel makers and exporters are now requesting that regulations for importing yarn through land ports be relaxed, as has the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), citing price increases in local marketplaces for this fundamental raw material for making clothes.
The Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) wrote letters to the commerce and finance ministries and secretaries, as well as the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), in this respect yesterday, concentrating on imports from India.
The BTTLMEA chairman said they currently had a lot of work orders from international retailers and brands. However, the local spinners are facing difficulties in supplying yarn at competitive prices for which we may lose our work orders to competing countries, he said. The government should improve the infrastructure in those land ports, facilitating warehouses and storage of raw materials like cotton, yarn and fabrics for the apparel industry, it said. to Bangladesh should not depend on one or two sources for importing cotton, yarn and fabrics, Ahmed said. He said allowing partial shipments through the land ports would open up scopes for irregularities.
The government stopped partial shipments many years ago to prevent the irregularities. Last fiscal year, Bangladesh imported 8.2 million bales of cotton and 326,539 tonnes of yarn in 2020, according to data from the BTMA.
