Bangladesh’s cotton consumption is expected to almost double by 2022, strongly retaining its position of world’s second largest cotton importers, according to a new study.
The local consumption is expected to increase from 9% in 2010-11 to 16% by 2022, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022 released recently.
“Use of cotton in the domestic spinning mills increases every year riding on growing apparel industry,” said Mohmmad Ayub, president of Bangladesh Cotton Association.
Bangladesh’s apparel industry relies heavily on cotton-based yarns, as knitwear and denim production account for nearly three-fourths of the country’s export earnings.
According to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), a platform of the spinners, the number of fabrics manufacturing units in 2013 stood at 782 from 777 in 2012.
The number of dyeing, printing and finishing units also increased to 240 from 234 and 392 spinning mills were set up in 2013, which was 394 in 2012 and 385 in 2011.
Spinning mills are the main strength of the export-oriented garment sector as they play an important role as a backward linkage industry for exports.
“If the present growth trend continues, it might be possible to reach closer to the forecast,” said ex-BTMA President Jahangir Alamin.
“But, we need more investment to double the use of spindles for doubling the use of cotton consumption by 2022,” he said. “The fact is that stable political situation and infrastructure are pre-requisite to attract investment.
Executive Director and Company Secretary of Metro Spinning Mills Limited Mohammad Mohsin Adnan said that his company will expand spinning capacity from 45,000 spindles to 97,800 by this year.
“Many units of the spinning mills in the country still remain unutilised due to gas crisis,” he said.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts that Bangladesh raw cotton consumption will stand at 3.9 million bales of raw cotton in 2013-14, which was 3.7 million in 12-13 and 3.2 million in 2011-12.
Yarn consumption in 2013-14 is forecast to increase to one million tons from 980,000 tons in 2012-13 while fabric consumption is forecast to reach 6.6 billion meters from 6.4 billion meters during the period, the report said.
The OECD-FAO outlook said China is expected to retain the role as the world’s largest importer that it had held shortly after the end of MFA (multi-fiber agreement), drive its consumption up sharply but at a reduced level.
“As China’s share of world imports falls from 41% in the base period to 23% in 2022, Bangladesh and Vietnam are expected to nearly reach double their share, surpassing China in total,” it said.
China’s imports are expected to drop 50% during the upcoming season as it winds down a strategic stockpiling programme, according to the National Cotton Council, a US industry group, leaving room for Bangladesh to expand its role in the international market.
The OECD-FAO report said total demand for cotton in the world is expected to reach 27.7Mt in 2022, surpassing its previous records-high by 1Mt.
It said in recent years, cotton consumption has been disrupted by global economic volatility, an unexpected price shock, and policy changes in China.
From a peak of 26.7Mt in 2006 and 2007, world consumption is estimated to have fallen 13% to 23.3Mt in 2012, it said.