Industry bodies urge removal of 4% source tax on local cotton at BTMA meeting.
Bangladesh’s textile value chain stakeholders have renewed calls to strengthen domestic cotton production and remove fiscal barriers, as industry bodies and government officials met at the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) headquarters in Gulshan on January 1, 2026.
The joint meeting, organised by BTMA, brought together senior officials from the Bangladesh Cotton Development Board (CDB) and members of the Bangladesh Cotton Ginners Association (BCGA). The session was chaired by Mohammad Khorshed Alam, Director, BTMA.
Speaking at the meeting, CDB officials highlighted the strategic importance of expanding local cotton cultivation to reduce import dependency and improve supply-chain resilience. The discussion placed strong emphasis on scaling domestic cotton production through better land utilisation, farmer engagement, and closer coordination between growers, ginners, and spinners.
Among the key recommendations was the withdrawal of the government-imposed 4% source tax on domestic cotton sales, which participants said discourages trade of locally produced cotton. Ginners also urged Bangladeshi spinning mills to prioritise the procurement of cotton produced by local ginning mills to support domestic value addition.
Mohammad Rezaual Amin, Executive Director, Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, along with Dr. Md. Gazi Golam Mortuza, Soil Fertility and Water Management Specialist, Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, and Dr. Khalequzzaman, Senior Scientific Officer, Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, shared technical perspectives on productivity improvement and sustainable cultivation practices. Project-level updates were presented by Dr. A.K.M. Harun-or-Rashid, Project Director, Bangladesh Cotton Development Board.
The meeting also discussed awareness-building initiatives among farmers. Ginners requested BTMA’s support in distributing 5,000 BTMA-branded T-shirts at a planned farmer seminar aimed at encouraging cotton cultivation.
Mohammad Khorshed Alam, Director, BTMA, stressed the importance of ensuring that cultivable agricultural land remains productive, urging the plantation of cotton trees where land remains idle. He also encouraged ginning mill owners to promote integrated farming, combining cotton with vegetables on fallow or underutilised land to enhance farmer income.
Ziaul Hasan Chowdhury, Deputy Secretary General, BTMA, was also present at the meeting, alongside representatives from ginning mills across Kushtia, Jashore, and other cotton-producing regions.
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