Cotton should be cultivated by stopping sugar and tobacco: Finance Minister

Newsg Reporter 24 February , 2018, 15:09:16

Dhaka: Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has said that the government is moving towards production of vasakas (silk) from jute as an alternative to reducing import dependence.

The Finance Minister said this while inaugurating the two-day 'Global Cotton Summit-2014' organized by the Bangladesh Cotton Association at Radisson Hotel in the city on Friday (February 23rd).

The Finance Minister said most of the raw materials used in our country's readymade garment industry are import dependent. In this case, it is seen that only three percent of the cotton is produced indigenously, the remaining 97 percent is imported. But we want to get out of this situation. As a substitute for cotton, we are moving forward to produce jute made from jute. We are working on this issue.

He said that there is not enough land for cotton production in our country, so domestic demand can not be met. Cotton should be cultivated on these lands by the production of sugar and tobacco products. Because domestic production of sugar is not profitable, tobacco is also not a good crop. So cotton cultivation should be stopped by these cultivation. Then you can meet the demand for some quantity.

State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam said, "There is no specific law even if the textile industry is built in our country. However, the present government has been thinking about this from long ago. As a result of this, the Cabinet has got policy approval for the Clothing Act. We hope the law will be presented in the next parliament session.

President of Textile Mills Association Tapan Chowdhury, President of International Cotton Association Mirza Salman Ispahani, FBCCI President Md. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, President of Bangladesh Cotton Association Mehedi Ali and President of Summit Organizing Committee. Ayub and others.