BISHKEK (TCA) — On May 25, a first batch of Kyrgyz cotton arrived in the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh, said the Honorary Consulate of Bangladesh in Kyrgyzstan.
For many years now, Bangladesh has been among the world’s largest cotton importers, as the country is the world’s second-largest clothes manufacturer after China. As Bangladesh’s clothing industry grows, the country’s need for cotton would only grow.
“Kyrgyzstan could not only successfully sell all of its cotton to this new market but also increase its cotton cultivation manifold, given that Kyrgyzstan’s current cotton production is equal to as little as 4-5 percent of Bangladesh’s cotton import,” said Temirbek Erkinov, the Honorary Consul of Bangladesh in Bishkek.
Bangladesh is the long-time and largest importer of Uzbek cotton, while to this day it had never imported cotton from Kyrgyzstan due to a number of barriers (such as quality control).
With the purpose to establish logistics routes for the export of Kyrgyz cotton to Bangladesh, the Honorary Consulate with the support from the Embassy of Bangladesh has organized the shipment of the first batch of Kyrgyz cotton to this southeast Asian country.
Talks are currently underway on construction of a joint cotton-processing factory in Kyrgyzstan and delivery of wool from Kyrgyzstan to Bangladesh, the Honorary Consulate said.
In Kyrgyzstan, cotton is cultivated in the south of the country.
