Brazil becomes Bangladesh’s top cotton supplier, surpassing India

• Brazil overtakes India as leading supplier
• Cotton imports forecast to rise in MY26
• Domestic production stagnant due to land scarcity
• Textile capacity underutilised, yarn imports rising

Brazil has emerged as the main supplier of raw cotton for Bangladesh, one of the world's top cotton importers and the second-largest garment exporter, surpassing neighbouring India, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

In the marketing year 2024–25 (MY25), beginning in August, Bangladesh imported 8.28 million bales of raw cotton. Brazil supplied about 1.9 million bales, accounting for 23 percent of total imports.

India was the second-largest supplier with 1.4 million bales, followed by Benin (1.06 million bales), Cameroon (616,538 bales), and the United States (595,902 bales).

The USDA report said that Brazilian cotton has become popular among Bangladeshi spinners due to its competitive pricing, wide availability during harvest, and stable supply.

In MY24, India was the top supplier, exporting 1.79 million bales (23 percent share). Bangladeshi importers mainly bought Indian cotton for shorter shipment times via the Kolkata and Benapole ports, despite higher prices and some quality issues.

For the current marketing year, MY26, the USDA forecasts Bangladesh's cotton imports at 8.4 million bales, a 1.4 percent increase from MY25, driven by higher usage by local spinners. This is 5.2 percent higher than the 7.8 million bales imported in MY24.

The report highlighted that cotton imports remained stable throughout MY25, despite early disruptions in RMG production following the formation of a new interim government in August 2024 after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled amid a student-led uprising in July.

Domestic cotton production is, however, expected to remain unchanged at 153,000 bales, limited by land scarcity and the long growing period, with cotton cultivated on 45,000–46,000 hectares.

Bangladesh's textile industry has the capacity to consume about 15 million bales annually, depending on raw material availability, power supply, and yarn demand.

Currently, only half of this capacity is being used, with raw cotton consumption estimated at 8.3 million bales in MY25. The USDA projects consumption will rise to 8.5 million bales in MY26, a 2.4 percent increase, driven by higher expected imports.

The spinning industry uses raw cotton to produce cotton and blended yarn, with yarn production expected to increase to 1.9 million tonnes in MY26 from 1.7 million tonnes.

Despite rising raw cotton imports and usage, Bangladesh's readymade garment industry is still expected to import more yarn and fabric.

India remains the largest supplier of cotton yarn to Bangladesh due to its large spinning industry, shorter shipment times, and lower logistics costs, while China is the top fabric exporter, followed by Pakistan and India.