India tops yarn supply to Bangladesh in 2024, but ban threat looms

The latest trade data indicates that India was the largest yarn supplier to Bangladesh in 2024, accounting for 53.66 per cent of the country's total yarn imports. India surpassed China to become the top yarn supplier following COVID-related disruptions, after which the Bangladeshi government opened land routes for yarn imports to ease the availability of raw materials for the domestic industry. These land routes were opened in 2021.

Bangladesh imported yarn worth $3.264 billion in 2024, of which $1.751 billion came from India—amounting to 53.66 per cent of the total imports. India was the largest yarn supplier to Bangladesh, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

Before COVID-19, China was the largest yarn supplier to Bangladesh. In 2019, the country’s total yarn imports stood at $2.048 billion. Of this, India was the second-largest supplier, contributing $664.730 million, or 32.46 per cent, while China held the top position with a 52.17 per cent share.

India’s share of yarn imports rose to 41.70 per cent in 2020 and further to 52.17 per cent in 2021. However, it fell to 44.88 per cent in 2022 before increasing again to 49.19 per cent. Meanwhile, China’s share declined from 52.17 per cent in 2019 to 44.93 per cent in 2020 and 34.84 per cent in 2021. It stood at 40.45 per cent in 2022 and 40.52 per cent in 2023.

Bangladesh’s total yarn imports were valued at $2.048 billion in 2019, with imports from India amounting to $664.730 million. The total imports were $1.854 billion in 2020, $3.893 billion in 2021, $3.517 billion in 2022, and $2.686 billion in 2023. Imports from India were recorded at $664.730 million in 2019, $773.555 million in 2020, $1.968 billion in 2021, $1.578 billion in 2022, and $1.320 billion in 2023, as per TexPro.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)