From November, cotton yarn spinners across Bangladesh will, for the first time, be able to draw American-grown cotton straight from a locally held stockpile, rather than waiting on lengthy overseas consignments — a shift industry figures say could sharply cut sourcing timelines and loosen the grip of middlemen on the supply chain.
This development comes against a backdrop of ongoing trade deal between Dhaka and Washington, under which Bangladeshi apparel manufactured using American fibre could qualify for preferential tariff treatment on entry to the US market.
Experts set out what buyers of finished garments might stand to gain, pointing to potential cuts of between 10 and 19% on import duties, alongside a transferable tax credit worth 18% of the value of the raw American cotton used.
Some apparel-sector leaders believe that potential benefit figure could eventually swell to as much as $2 billion, provided favourable trade terms fall into place.
Sited at Anwara, in Chattogram district and close to the government’s designated Free Trade Zone, the new depot will let manufacturers draw down bales as needed, sidestepping the months-long wait that has traditionally accompanied single cargo shipments.
Behind the venture sits AmeriBangla Corporation, headed by Aswar Rahman, a cotton trader of Bangladeshi-American background. The company has stepped in after a comparable state-backed scheme failed to gain traction.
Rahman confirmed that the site is on track to go live on November 18, with a first tranche of roughly 100 tonnes already en-route by sea from an American port.
He framed the facility as a way of trimming waiting times and opening up affordable access to raw material, particularly for smaller spinning and manufacturing operations with limited working capital.
Spinning and weaving mills form the backbone of Bangladeshi cotton demand, and the plan has drawn a warm reception from the sector’s leading trade body.
Showkat Aziz Russell, who chairs the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said that conventional import routes typically involve a wait of close to three months from order to delivery.
A domestically held stock, he argued, would shrink that gap considerably, hand mills a meaningful edge on turnaround, and dampen the price swings that come with long shipping cycles.
While American cotton typically commands a modest premium over rival origins, sector leaders point out that its superior grading, lower wastage, and reduced losses during processing generally cancel out the extra upfront outlay.
Figures compiled by the Textile Mills Association show Bangladesh’s US cotton import bill climbing to $346 million in the last financial year, up from $278 million the year before, equivalent to roughly a tenth of all cotton brought into the country, TBS reported.
At present, American cotton reaching Chattogram through conventional channels runs to around 85 cents a pound, carrying roughly a 16-cent premium over comparable alternative sources. Under the new depot arrangement, AmeriBangla intends to price stock about 10 cents a pound below going market rates.
A representative from Envoy Textile, a major cotton importer, said the firm had already run smaller test purchases through AmeriBangla, adding that sourcing straight from the source allowed for sharper pricing and that, should the operation prove capable of dependable, larger-scale supply, it could become a go-to source for the company.
On the compliance side, the proposed system for verifying fibre origin is expected to blend self-declaration by industry participants with independent physical inspections and isotopic testing carried out by American academic institutions.
