Spinners stick to Feb 1 shutdown over yarn imports

Spinning mills will remain closed from February 1 if the government does not withdraw the duty-free import of yarn, a move aimed at protecting the local spinning sector.

Leaders of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), which represents the country’s primary textile industry, reiterated this stance at a meeting at its office yesterday, according to a BTMA statement.

At the meeting, BTMA President Showkat Aziz Russell expressed concern over the growing crisis caused by duty-free imports of highly subsidised Indian yarn. 

“Because of heavy subsidies from the Indian government, local spinning mills are facing unfair competition, as Indian spinners can supply yarn in Bangladesh at prices 30 to 35 cents lower than local suppliers,” he said.

Russell warned that if the government does not take policy action to remove this unfair competition, the local spinning sector will face a deeper crisis, according to the statement.

He added that yarn imports from India rose 137 percent over the past year, with nearly 50 mills already shut down and another 50 on the verge of closure, putting many workers’ jobs at risk.

Russell urged the government to act quickly. “The government must withdraw the duty-free import facility for 10 to 30 count yarn to save local spinning mills,” he said.

Earlier, at a press conference on January 22, BTMA leaders threatened to shut down spinning mills indefinitely if the demand is not met by February 1. They said Bangladesh has sufficient capacity to supply this category of yarn to garment exporters.

The $25 billion local primary textile sector currently supplies more than 90 percent of yarn used by the knitwear sector and over 50 percent for the woven sector.