Brazil has overtaken India to become Bangladesh's top cotton supplier.
By jayesh chouhan 2025-12-09 15:11:22
Brazil Becomes Bangladesh’s Top Cotton Supplier
According to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, Brazil has overtaken neighboring India to become Bangladesh's leading supplier of raw cotton. Bangladesh is one of the world's top cotton importers and the second-largest garment exporter.
In the 2024-25 marketing year (MY25), which began in August, Bangladesh imported 8.28 million bales of raw cotton. Brazil supplied approximately 1.9 million bales, accounting for 23 percent of total imports.
India was the second-largest supplier with 1.4 million bales, followed by Benin (1.06 million bales), Cameroon (616,538 bales), and the United States (595,902 bales).
The USDA report states that Brazilian cotton has become popular among Bangladeshi spinners due to its competitive price, wide availability during harvest, and stable supply.
In FY2024, India was the top supplier, exporting 1.79 million bales (23 percent share). Bangladeshi importers purchased Indian cotton in a short period of time, primarily through the Kolkata and Benapole ports, despite higher prices and some quality issues.
For the current marketing year, 2026, USDA estimates cotton imports from Bangladesh at 8.4 million bales, a 1.4 percent increase over 2025, primarily due to higher cotton consumption by local spinners. This is a 5.2 percent increase from 2024 imports of 7.8 million bales.
The report highlights that cotton imports remained stable during MY25, despite initial disruptions to RMG production following the formation of a new interim government in August 2024 after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled amid a student-led uprising in July.
However, domestic cotton production is expected to remain unchanged at 153,000 bales, limited by land scarcity and a long production period, with cotton cultivated on 45,000–46,000 hectares.
The annual consumption capacity of Bangladesh's textile industry is approximately 15 million bales, depending on the availability of raw materials, power supply, and yarn demand.
Currently, only half of this capacity is being utilized, and raw cotton consumption is projected to reach 8.3 million bales in fiscal year 2025. The USDA estimates that consumption will increase to 8.5 million bales in fiscal year 2026, a 2.4 percent increase in expected imports.
The spinning industry uses raw cotton to produce cotton and blended yarn, and yarn production is expected to increase from 1.7 million tons to 1.9 million tons in 2026.
Despite increasing imports and use of raw cotton, Bangladesh's readymade garment industry is still expected to import more yarn and fabric.
India remains the largest supplier of cotton yarn to Bangladesh due to its large spinning industry, shorter shipment times, and lower logistics costs, while China is the top textile exporter, followed by Pakistan and India
