Al Amin :
Man-made fibers (MMF) are considered the future apparel industry of the country as the demand for this product is growing significantly in the international markets.
With the rise of the high-end smart fashion market worldwide, the demand for MMF is also increasing and the consumers are looking for easy-to-use products due to the changing trend in lifestyle.
Currently, some 40 local factories have been importing, using and selling manmade fibres in Bangladesh while it was less than 30 just five years ago.
The rising number of factories that use manmade fibres also indicates that the entrepreneurs are showing a heightened interest in the sector, although setting up the artificial yarn factory is very expensive.
Matin Chowdhury, CEO of Malek Spin Mill, said, “I tried to set up an artificial fiber factory for 10 years before the project cost was estimated at $100 million and now it takes from $400 million to 500 million.”
But the growing export demand for the MMF-based clothe has changed the mindset of the entrepreneurs and are now investing in the textile sector amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to boost production capacity and adopt new technology, the industry insiders said.
Apart from local entrepreneurs, foreign investors are also coming up with announcements of setting up factories in the country for the production of man-made fabric.
They said the buyers from Europe and the United States are placing purchasing orders like pre-Covid level as their markets are reopening by controlling the pandemic with widespread vaccination.
Many apparel manufacturers are now plagued with additional export orders, which they will not be able to complete in time by using their current capacity, they added.
Besides, trade tensions between the US and China have also encouraged local entrepreneurs to invest in some value-added yarn and fabrics.
They further said that the textile sector lags behind in the production of blended yarn and fabrics like polyester, synthetic, viscose and lycra (known as man-made fiber), the country still have to import these kinds of yarns and fabrics to meet the buyers demand.
Mohammad Ali Khokon, President of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said that almost every factory is now investing in balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion.
Referring to the increased demand for textile products, including cotton and man-made fabrics, the BTMA president said, “Currently, my factory has daily export orders of 100 tonnes of fabrics while we have the capacity to produce only 60 tonnes.”
According to the BTMA, more than 433 spinning mills were in operation in Bangladesh in 2020, which had a combined production capacity of 3,270 million kilograms of yarn per year.
Local spinners can supply nearly 85-90 per cent of the required yarn and fabrics for knitwear.
In the case of woven fabrics, local weavers can supply below 40 percent of the requirement. Because of this the woven garment industry has remained dependent on foreign fabrics, according to BTMA data.
