Bangladesh's textile and spinning industries could help restore a significant number of jobs lost over the past three years and create new employment opportunities, potentially securing nearly 1.5 million jobs in the sector following the recent tighter controls on yarn imports, say officials.
The restrictions on imports of 10-count to 30-count cotton yarn could help strengthen the primary textile and readymade garment (RMG) supply chain, as well as save around $1.6 billion annually in import costs, according to commerce ministry and tariff commission officials.
Seeking anonymity, a commerce ministry official says following the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) report, the ministry has advised the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to curb yarn imports, aiming to promote local industries and employment.
After the national election, the elected government committed to creating 10 million jobs during its term.
Ministry officials say this move would help achieve the vision and strengthen local backward-linkage industries, boosting export competitiveness over the long term.
In line with the government's vision and referring to NBR data, officials say a key catalyst behind the policy reform is the exponential growth in foreign yarn imports, which has put severe pressure on domestic backward-linkage industries and foreign exchange reserves.
Official data shows yarn imports under HS headings 5205, 5206 and 5207 nearly doubled in two years, rising from 350.8 million kg in FY23 to 697.1 million kg in FY25, with the latter valued at Tk 267 billion.
In FY26, the total yarn import bills rose to approximately Tk 300 billion, of which around 65 per cent comprised yarn with counts ranging from 10 to 30.
Textile millers estimate that replacing a major share of these foreign shipments with locally produced yarn could reduce the annual import bill by roughly Tk 200 billion, keeping vital funds within the domestic economy.
Under a recent decision, traditional duty-free bonded warehouse facilities for these specific yarn counts have been withdrawn and replaced with a framework mandating bank guarantees, verified export proofs, and strict accountability to curb misuse and protect local industries.
Emphasising the massive employment potential of the decision, Engineer Razeeb Haider, former director of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), says, "If closed and semi-closed textile factories in the country can be effectively restarted, it could create employment opportunities for nearly 1.5 million people."
He notes that the sector's economic footprint extends far beyond factory floors, driving employment across cotton handling, transportation, warehousing, packaging, engineering maintenance, utilities, banking, insurance, downstream knitting, weaving, and dyeing industries.
Md Badsha Mia, founder of Badsha Group of Industries, says the tariff commission reviewed all import data and recommended keeping 10-30 count yarn out of the bond facility to save domestic spinning from unfair competition.
Discussing the broader financial dimensions of raw material procurement and local industry viability, he also emphasises the importance of aligning cost structures and protecting domestic manufacturing values.
"Ensuring a balance between required raw material imports and local production viability is vital. Without a protective framework for local processing steps, heavy capital investments in the textile sector face severe risks."
Echoing similar concerns regarding capacity constraints and market pressures, Chowdhury Mohammad Hanif, director of Salma Group and a director of BTMA, points out that local mills have long struggled with low capacity utilisation due to an influx of cheap foreign shipments.
"When local production lines sit idle because of unchecked imports, the entire backward linkage ecosystem suffers immensely."
He also says this streamlined oversight will safeguard local investments worth over $32 billion, ensure proper revenue collection and strengthen domestic value addition as Bangladesh navigates post-LDC trade challenges.
