DHAKA: Bangladesh plans to import 200,000 tons of cotton a year from Uzbekistan in a new deal to be finalized soon.

Negotiations are underway to set its terms in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments, the Financial Express quotes Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Atiqul Islam as saying.

Bangladesh’s industry is heavily dependent on imported cotton yarn and fabric.

The proposed deal will "ensure a steady supply of cotton to the country`s textile industry", said Islam.

The garment and textile industry of Bangladesh uses about 800,000 tons of cotton annually and the bulk of it is imported from India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Africa, Brazil, and the US.

The deal comes at a time of mounting criticism of Uzbekistan`s cotton industry over its use of child labor. The Cotton Campaign has, for instance, alleged that the Uzbek government forces "children as young as 10 to pick cotton under appalling conditions each harvest season".

More than 120 international apparel brands and retailers have already banned the use of cotton from Uzbekistan as part of efforts to stop the country using forced and child labor to harvest its cotton.

Uzbekistan expects to produce 1.1 million tons of processed cotton in 2013, to maintain the production at the level of 2012.
 
According to the Uzbek Cotton Industry Association, raw cotton harvesting for the current year is predicted at last year’s level of 3.35 million tons, Azer News reports.
 
In 2012, Uzbekistan’s raw cotton harvest was 3.35 million tons which was 4.5 percent lower compared to the harvest in 2011 when the production of processed cotton had decreased by 0.6 percent to 1.095 million tons.
 
Uzbekistan is the sixth largest cotton producer and second largest cotton exporter in the world.

Source: The time of central asia
BDST: 0900 HRS, AUG 27, 2013
RS/GCP