Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA), expressing concern over the decade-high cotton price, has highlighted the current situation of the cotton market, production, availability, and its supply chain.
Muhammad Ayub, president of BCA, said that an acceptable situation must be created for everyone considering the actual information so that the readymade garments and overall textile sector does not get harmed due to any wrong decision or move.
He made the remark at a press conference organized at a hotel in the capital on Monday.
He said, “Although cotton is an agricultural product, it is an industrial raw material. Its pricing is based on New York Features and is controlled internationally. The cotton price index has been rising steadily since September 28, 2021. As a result, cotton price has reached the highest peak in the last decade.”
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The BCA president mentioned that cotton is being harvested at present in most of the cotton producing countries and therefore, the price of cotton is supposed to be low at this time.
“However, the situation is completely opposite. Analyzing the nature of the price index of cotton over the last few months, it cannot be said for sure what the price of cotton might be in the future,” he said.
He further said, “The current situation of cotton is affecting not only Bangladesh but also countries that spin cotton. The textile and readymade garment industry is in a volatile situation due to the increase in the price of cotton. The mismanagement or unavailability of other services such as ships, containers, port congestion and other logistics is also responsible for the increased price.”
He mentioned that due to the delay in the unloading of food at Chattogram port, Bangladesh has to pay two to three US cents more than the C&F price of cotton compared to other countries.
“The Bangladesh Cotton Association strongly believes that if our textile and readymade garment sector does not develop parallelly and if any one of these two industries is threatened for any reason, everyone involved in this industry will move towards an uncertain future which is not desirable,” he added.
