Textile industry explores solutions for yarn exports to Bangladesh

NEW DELHI : With Bangladesh closing its land ports for yarn exported by India, textile mills in India are looking at alternative modes of transport and have also urged the government to take up the issue with Bangladesh.

Almost 30% of India’s yarn, mainly dyed and special yarn, exported to Bangladesh was transported via land ports. At a recent meeting, the yarn exporters explored various alternative options such as shipping in containers, using inland water ways, etc. They also had meetings with buyers in Bangladesh.

“The problem in sending the goods in containers by sea is the lead time. Even now, 70% of the Indian yarn to Bangladesh goes by sea. Those who exported through land ports will also use the sea now. There are smaller ships that go from Kolkata. The possibility of sending in those ships needs to be explored,” said Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive Director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council.

According to K. Selvaraju, Secretary General of the Southern India Mills’ Association, nearly 45% of India’s yarn exports are to Bangladesh. India used to export over 100 million kg of yarn totally a month. Now, it is just about 90 million kg. China and Bangladesh were main markets for Indian yarn. In recent years, China’s imports of Indian yarn have reduced substantially. If the 30% exports to Bangladesh are affected, the yarn will come for domestic consumption and bring down the prices. The domestic textile value chain will be impacted.

Currently, textile mills in the northern States are affected because of the closure of the land ports. However, if the situation does not improve, the entire textile spinning sector will be affected, he said.