Bangladesh considers tariffs on Indian cotton yarn imports
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh is mulling tariffs on Indian cotton yarn imports, with the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission discussing this on January 5, Indian yarn industry executives said on Wednesday, citing Bangladeshi trade reports, against the backdrop of deteriorating bilateral relations.
Levies by Bangladesh, the world’s largest importer of raw cotton, on yarn imports from India, its largest supplier, could weaken domestic prices, hitting mills and farmers here, analysts said.
Imposition of customs duty by Bangladesh, which could be in the “range of 10-20%”, could halt a recovery in domestic cotton prices, which fell steeply in 2025 due to duty-free imports by India between August 10 and December 31 2025, said Rahul Chouhan, an analyst with iGrain, a New Delhi-based commodity trading firm.
India has been sheltering former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina since she fled Dhaka in mid 2024 following student-led protests, and a harsh crackdown by security forces that killed hundreds but only served to intensify the agitation against her. She has been sentenced to death, in her absence, by a Bangladesh tribunal.
Meanwhile Dhaka has grown closer to both Beijing and Islamabad, several of its leaders, including its interim head of government Mohammed Yunus, have made intemperate comments about India, and New Delhi has condemned a string of recent murders of Hindus in Bangladesh, while the interim government of the neighbouring country continues to press for an extradition of its toppled leader, to which India has remained non-committal.
The latest spat between the two countries involved the participation of a Bangladesh cricketer in the Indian Premier League. After protests in India forced the Indian cricket board to ask the team that signed him on to release him, Dhaka said it would not travel to India for a major cricket tournament, citing security concerns.
