Weekly Textile Week 26: Bangladesh Mill Stress Raises Yarn and Knitwear Cost Questions

Bangladesh's textile supply chain moved into sharper focus in the final week of June as fresh reporting showed pressure building inside the country's spinning, weaving and dyeing base, the part of the industry that sits behind many knitwear and apparel-costing discussions.

The Business Standard reported on 25 June that the country's textile sector, estimated at $23 billion, is under strain from gas shortages, higher energy costs, incentive reductions, higher interest rates and lower utilisation. The report said 234 yarn and fabric mills have shut since 2019 and cited industry concerns over local value addition falling as more yarn and fabric are imported.

Sources: The Business Standard.

The same week, TBS reported that Apex Spinning and Knitting Mills announced an indefinite temporary layoff following labour unrest, affecting about 5,000 employees and workers. The company-specific case added a visible production-continuity signal to an already difficult mill backdrop.

Sources: The Business Standard.

For knitwear costing, the issue is not only whether yarn is available. It is whether yarn booking, dyeing capacity, fabric width, GSM, finishing schedule and price validity still match the assumptions used when a T-shirt, polo, fleece or rib program was first costed.

Regional competition also moved during the same window. On 21 June, TBS reported that Indian textile exporters expected the India-UK trade agreement to improve their position against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the UK market. Fibre2Fashion later reported that India's textile ministry had opened a roadmap process aimed at lifting textile and apparel exports from about $37 billion to $100 billion by 2030.

Sources: The Business Standard; Fibre2Fashion.

Cotton-cost discussion added another layer. Economic Times coverage on 26 June framed India's temporary cotton import-duty relief as helpful for near-term cost pressure but not enough to solve deeper competitiveness issues around cotton quality, productivity and manufacturing structure.

Sources: The Economic Times.

Official BGMEA export data kept the Bangladesh story in perspective. For July-May FY2025-26, total RMG exports were listed at $35.31 billion, down 3.41% year on year, with knitwear down 4.26% and woven down 2.42%. Bangladesh remains a large apparel base, but the numbers make current yarn, fabric and production assumptions worth rechecking.

Sources: BGMEA.

The Week 26 reading is therefore straightforward: Bangladesh's apparel base is still central, but mill stress, import dependence, factory-level disruption and regional trade moves have made old costing assumptions less reliable.