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Tipu seeks duty-free cotton from US

Staff Correspondent
20 Jan 2023 19:34:53 | Update: 20 Jan 2023 22:02:31
Tipu seeks duty-free cotton from US
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi — File Photo

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Friday sought duty-free benefits from the United States in importing cotton.

"Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of ready-made garments (RMG) in the world. About 82 per cent of Bangladesh's total exports come from RMG. The USA is a major cotton producer. Every year, Bangladesh imports a huge amount of cotton from different countries for use in garment factories. If the USA grants Bangladesh duty-free trade facilities for the import of cotton for use in RMG factories, it will benefit our industry," he said.

The minister said this while speaking as the chief guest at the "4th Global Cotton Summit Bangladesh-2023" organised by Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA) in collaboration with Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) at Hotel Radisson Blue Water Garden in the city, read a press release.

Tipu said Bangladesh needs nine million bales of cotton to export RMG to the world market.

Out of this, only 150,000 bales of cotton are produced in the country and the production is about 1.6 per cent of the total demand, he added.

He said, "Bangladesh has to import the remaining huge amount of cotton from different countries. Bangladesh is making efforts to increase cotton production in the country. More efforts will be made in the coming days."

Tipu mentioned that if Bangladesh wants to export RMG worth $100 billion in the next two years, a huge amount of cotton will be required.

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