Bangladesh textile mill owners seek interim suspension on cotton yarn import

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), which is the body of the textile mill owners in the country, has sought an interim restriction on import of cotton yarns for the readymade garment (RMG) industry even as they cited stockpiles of the same in various mills of the country to press home their point.

According to reports, in a letter written to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank (central bank) Abdur Rouf Talukder, BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon made this request while underlining such a move (temporary suspension on the import of cotton yarns) will help to retain the foreign currency even as the BTMA also demanded issuing an interim instruction to the export-oriented readymade garment factories to procure at least 70 per cent of their total cotton yarn requirement from the local spinning mills under back-to-back letters of credit.

The mill owners’body further reportedly held if the central bank introduces such policy, it will help Bangladesh face the issue of dollar crisis and at the same time the local spinning mills would get rid of liquidity crisis caused by yarn stockpiles.