Bangladesh's export-oriented apparel makers want a 10% special incentive on export of garments made of non-cotton clothes to encourage shipment of such items.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan recently requested the Ministry of Commerce to outline the next course of action for providing the incentive in the next budget.
In FY22, around 73% of the country's total apparel export was cotton-made items.
It was 69% in FY09, which shows that dependency on cotton-made items has increased, according to the BGMEA letter.
There was no material diversification of apparel items, although the country's RMG export gradually reached $45 billion during the past four decades, it claimed.
The BGMEA also mentioned that of the total global textile consumption, non-cotton or man-made fibres (MMF) is around 75%, and 25% is cotton-made items.
The demand for clothing made of such synthetic materials is increasing globally due to increase in the demand of sustainable and environment-friendly clothes as well as gradual change in living standard of consumers, the BGMEA letter noted.
Currently, non-cotton items' share is around 52% in the total global apparel trade, whereas only 26% of Bangladesh's RMG export is non-cotton items.
The BGMEA mentioned that in the last decade, there has been some investment in the country's non-cotton sector, especially MMF.
But, the investment was mainly in capital and technology.
The BGMEA president sought allocation in the next budget for providing 10% incentive on export of non-cotton apparels to encourage their export and investment in the sector as well as to maintain competitive capacity.
He also said that if the government provides such a special facility to the export of non-cotton items, the RMG sector's export, earning, investment and employment would increase.
