The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has strongly opposed a provision in the proposed FY2026-27 budget to withdraw the existing 30% value-addition requirement for importing raw materials against bank guarantees.
Speaking at a press conference at the Gulshan Club in Dhaka on Thursday (20 June), BTMA leaders warned that removing the condition would trigger a surge in the misuse of bond facilities and create unfair market competition, severely hurting the domestic textile industry.
The association emphasized that retaining the 30% threshold is critical to safeguarding local industries and sustaining export capacity as Bangladesh prepares for its upcoming LDC graduation.
Highlighting the sector's current struggles, BTMA President Showkat Aziz Russell noted that despite having sufficient local production capacity, yarn worth Tk26,000 crore was imported in FY2024-25.
Russell added that 234 textile factories have been forced to shut down since 2019, while many surviving mills are currently operating at just 60% to 70% of their total capacity.
To help the industry survive and compete, the BTMA also placed several other demands before the government. These include reducing the corporate tax rate for the primary textile sector to 12%, withdrawing a proposed 5% import duty on polyester staple fibre, and fully waiving the tax at source on export cash incentives.
