Indian ban pushes Bangladeshi spinners to Australian cotton

DHAKA - Spinners in Bangladesh are switching to expensive cotton from Australia due to “uncertainties” caused by India’s export restrictions, the New Age newspaper said Tuesday.

Although India last month eased the restrictions partially, the newspaper said the spinners, awaiting arrival of 150,000 tonnes of Indian cotton contracted before a April 21 ban, found the suppliers “prevaricating”.

It quoted Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed, a director of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), as saying that Indian suppliers were not delivering the negotiated consignments, citing many pretexts.

“Bangladeshi spinners are even ready to pay cotton duty imposed by the Indian authorities but the suppliers are saying that they are unable to arrange stocks,” Ahmed said.

He said due to high costs, Australian cotton earlier did not attract them. But “global supply shortage and restriction on cotton exports by India this year have pushed Bangladeshi spinners to turn to Australian cotton”.

The Indian government had clamped the ban on export of cotton in a bid to control rising prices in the domestic market. It withdrew on May 21 the ban on Bangladesh and Pakistan bound consignments but on condition that export consignments would have to be licensed and contracted before the ban.

Shawkot Aziz Russel, managing director of the Partex Group, which has several spinning units, said no local spinner was sure about delivery of cotton consignments that had been contracted before the ban.

“Indian suppliers are telling us that they are yet to get clearance for shipping cotton to Bangladesh,” said Russel, whose company’s annual cotton procurement from India amounts to around $15 million.

Industry insiders estimate more than 150,000 tonnes of Australian cotton have been booked by Bangladeshi spinners.

“Nearly 30,000 tonnes of Australian cotton have been booked in the last few weeks by the Bangladeshi importers,” said Deepok K. Baral, managing director of DSM Commodities, a leading cotton merchant.

Singapore-based Olam, a top global commodity trading house, alone has dealt more than 20,000 tonnes cotton contracts, said Baral, who represents Olam in Bangladesh.

China, Indonesia and Vietnam are major buyers of Australian cotton, but Bangladesh’s annual procurements from Australia remain at 5,000 tonnes or less.