The Cotton Development Board (CDB) hosted a Cotton for Good – Sustainability in the Domestic Value Chain seminar in Dhaka to commemorate World Cotton Day in 2024. Important participants from academia, business, and government were gathered at the event to talk about tactics for increasing cotton output in the area.
Prominent speakers addressed the conference, including Special Guest Afsari Khanam, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Chief Guest Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Cotton Development Board’s Executive Director, Dr. Md. Fakhre Alam, presided over the function, and the honouree was Dia Sanou, Bangladesh’s Deputy Country Representative for the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Bangladesh produces about 200,000 bales of cotton a year, or around 2-3 per cent of the nation’s annual consumption, according to Dr. Fakhre Alam, who disclosed that Bangladesh is ranked 24th among countries that produce cotton.
He highlighted the difficulties encountered in the regional cotton supply chains, particularly the lack of hybrid seed varieties with short maturities, which makes it difficult to reach output goals. He described the CDB’s objective to meet 20 per cent of the region’s demand for cotton by 2040, but he cautioned that this would need a large expansion of cotton production areas—at least 150 per cent more than the 45,000 hectares already in use.
In addition to stressing the need of short-duration cultivars, Dr. Emdad Ullah advocated for the creation of a research pool for individuals working to increase the nation’s cotton output.
During the event, several industry executives offered their perspectives. The Cotton Ginners Association’s general secretary, Golam Sabre Lal, urged the government to remove levies and value-added taxation from local cotton purchase letters of credit, bringing them into compliance with global norms. The director of operations at Armada Spinning Mills Ltd., Md. Abul Kalam Azad, recommended that the CDB improve its capacity for research and development.
The Cotton Council International’s (Bangladesh) country representative, Ali Arsalan, outlined the organization’s efforts to guarantee traceability in cotton sourcing, and Bangladesh Cotton Connect South Asia Pvt. Ltd.’s senior agronomic adviser, Md. Farid Uddin, shared efforts to establish a safe working environment for cotton labourers and farmers.
The conference emphasised how crucial it is for all parties involved to work together to improve domestic cotton output and fortify the domestic value chain, opening the door for Bangladesh’s cotton sector to become more self-sufficient and sustainable.