Finance Minister AMA Muhith Friday emphasised the need to increase cotton production in order to meet ready-made garment (RMG) sector as the sector relies heavily on imported cotton.
"Now, the raw materials of the RMG sector are imported. We can meet only three per cent of cotton demand from local sources" he said.
Muhith said it while speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day 'Global Cotton Summit-2018' at Radisson Hotel in the capital, reports BSS.
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam Mirza Azam said the government is working to announce a law on the textile sector as there is no law to develop the country's textile industry.
"Cabinet has approved the proposed Textile Act. The proposed act is likely to place before the Jatiya Sangsad as a bill in the next session," he said.
President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association Tapan Chowdhury, International Cotton Association President Mirza Salman Ispahani and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) M Shafiul Islam also spoke on the occasion.