Bangladesh to witness rise in cotton consumption by 10 percent to more than one million tonnes due to higher demand from garment makers and favourable government policies for the textile sector while cotton consumption in Vietnam, one of the major competitors of Bangladesh in global apparel trade, will rise 20 percent to 1.1 million this fiscal year, as per the latest report released last week by the International Cotton Advisory Committee.

The ICAC, based in Washington, provides statistics on world cotton production, consumption, trade and stocks, and identifies emerging changes in the world cotton market.

The ICAC report also said world cotton consumption has been revised downward from initial projections to 24.4 million tonnes. With consumption slowing, world cotton imports are forecast to decline 3 percent to 7.4 million tonnes in 2015-16, which would constitute the fourth consecutive season in which import volume declined after peaking at 9.8 million tonnes in 2011-12. China's imports are expected to shrink 33 percent to 1.2 million tonnes.

On cotton production, the ICAC said that world cotton production is forecast to dropl 12 percent to 23.1 million tonnes, which is 1.3 million tonnes lower than the projected demand in 2015-16.

Jahangir Alamin, managing director of Fuad Spinning Mills Ltd and also a former president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, a platform for spinners and weavers said that the rise in cotton consumption is not surprising as the demand is increasing due to higher garment exports from Bangladesh. They have a lot of spindle capacity all they need now is adequate supply of power and gas to run the factories at full steam.

Currently, local importers have the capacity to consume about 2 million tonnes of cotton a year, but they are unable to go into full production due to inadequate supply of gas and power to industrial units.

Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that in the first five months of fiscal 2015-16, $10.47 billion of garment products were shipped, up 16.13 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

According to the ICAC, with the latest revision, cotton consumption in China is now forecast to be 7.3 million tonnes in 2015-16. India, the world's second largest consumer of cotton, may see mill use rise 3 percent to reach 5.5 million tonnes in 2015-16.

However, Pakistan, which in previous years had benefitted from the growing demand for cotton yarn in China, is expected to see mill use decrease 10 percent to 2.2 million tonnes this season.