Bangladesh’s imports of capital machinery by textile sector increased about 54 per cent year-on-year in fiscal 2014-15 on the back of higher demand for raw materials from garment exporters.
According to data from Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), 445.7 million US Dollar worth of capital machinery was imported by the sector in the last fiscal year. A BTMA certification is required for importing machinery for the textile sector.
Entrepreneurs set up 26 textile mills in spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing last fiscal year which lead to acceleration of machinery imports, Monsoor Ahmed, secretary to the BTMA said. Also, the demand for yarn and fabrics from garment makers is rising tremendously and therefore many factory owners have expanded their production capacity, he added.
At present, the textile mills meet 90 per cent of the requirement for knitwear and 40 per cent for woven fabric by garment factories, and in doing so they are helping the country save a substantial amount of foreign currency. And thanks to sourcing raw materials from the local market, the garment makers can now ship the finished goods within 32 to 45 days.
Managing director of Hamid Fabrics Abdullah Al Mahmud Mahin said, “If the fabrics are imported from China instead, then another 30 to 40 days are required. We can supply the fabrics in two weeks due to our faster production capacity.”
Many factory owners like him have installed new machineries within their existing power and gas generation capacities to replace their older ones for higher production in a shorter time. The garment manufacturers have a vision to export 50 billion US Dollar worth of apparel products by the end of 2021.
