Bangladesh Targets an 8.5-Fold Cotton Boost by 2050
Bangladesh plans to raise cotton production to 1.9 million bales by 2050, from 224,000 now. It addresses a major supply gap in a country whose garment exports earned $38.7 billion in FY2025–26.
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In a Nutshell
- The Cotton Development Board aims to increase annual cotton output to 500,000 bales within four years, 1 million by 2040 and 1.9 million by 2050.
- Cotton cultivation is planned to expand from 39 to 53 districts and cover 200,000 hectares.
- Bangladesh’s annual raw-cotton demand is nearly 8 million bales; domestic production currently meets only about 3–4% of the requirement, according to BSS.
- The country spent Tk80,000 crore ($6.51 billion) importing 7.3 million bales of raw cotton and yarn in FY2025–26.
- Bangladesh’s ready-made garment exports reached $38.7 billion in FY2025–26, accounting for 80.62% of total exports, according to BGMEA.
- The CDB says it has 483 staff against 864 approved posts, a capacity gap as it pursues the expansion.
Context
The CDB puts annual demand at nearly 8 million bales and current domestic output at 224,000 bales. In FY2025–26, Bangladesh spent Tk80,000 crore on imports of raw cotton and yarn. The scale of the downstream industry makes the supply gap significant because BGMEA data show garment exports earned $38.7 billion in FY2025-26-80.62% of Bangladesh’s total export earnings.
The CDB’s plan aims to raise cotton output to 1.9 million bales by 2050 by extending cultivation to 53 districts and 200,000 hectares, including charland, Barind, hilly, saline and drought-prone areas. Officials also describe cotton as a profitable crop for farmers and say it can be grown alongside other crops.
Why It Matters
Cotton is a key input for Bangladesh’s textile and garment exports. However, the country spends billions of dollars importing cotton and yarn because local cotton production remains low. A larger domestic crop may reduce some reliance on overseas supplies and lower import costs, but even the 2050 target of 1.9 million bales would cover only a portion of today’s demand of nearly 8 million bales.
What We Think
Growing more cotton in Bangladesh may reduce the garment sector’s dependence on imports and help with global price changes and trade disruptions that it faces due to its heavy reliance on foreign supplies. However, even if Bangladesh reaches its target of 1.9 million bales by 2050, this may meet less than one-quarter of today’s industrial demand.
In order to meet this target Bangladesh may also expand the use of synthetic and other non-cotton materials to avoid relying only on slow growth in local cotton production.