Dhaka. The Mohammad Yunus government of Bangladesh is continuously trying to strengthen relations with Pakistan, while the enmity with old friend India is increasing. Now the Yunus government is preparing to take a step which will have a direct impact on India. According to the report, Yunus government is going to impose custom duty on cotton yarn imported into Bangladesh. Bangladesh imports most of its cotton yarn from India, which is very important for the country’s textile industry. This duty can be between 10 to 20 percent. Bangladesh hopes that the imposition of custom duty may stop the fall in domestic cotton prices.
The Yunus government of Bangladesh is currently in trouble. On one hand, it is facing strong opposition from textile mills, who say that duty free imports have brought them to the brink of ruin. At the same time, textile exporters are warning that any new duty will weaken the country’s global competitiveness.
India is the largest exporter of cotton yarn to Bangladesh. India had exported cotton yarn worth $3.57 billion in 2025. Bangladesh was the biggest buyer, importing 45.9 percent of the total shipment. At the same time, Indian share in total imports of Bangladesh is 82 percent. But there are protests against it in Bangladesh and it is being said that it is causing huge losses to the domestic cotton producers as the prices are continuously falling.
Textile exporters are looking at this issue differently. Exporters argue that locally produced yarn is very expensive and not of good quality. Bangladesh is a major textile exporter and global brands prefer Indian supplies. This is a major reason for the import of Indian yarn in Bangladesh. Exporters fear that any disruption in imports will increase costs, delay shipments and ultimately impact the country’s global textile market.
In April last year, the Yunus government had stopped allowing yarn import from India through major land ports. Before this, 32 percent of India’s yarn exports to Bangladesh were via land route. However, even after this there was not much improvement in the demand for domestic yarn.
