Bangladesh disturbances likely to impact yarn, fabric exports

Reports of wage protests at garment factories in Bangladesh may impact the global supplies and Indian exports in the short term, say Indian textile industry officials.

However, this may bring more orders to Indian garment exporters in the long term, they add.

According to Sanjay Jain, group CEO of PDS Limited, it is possible that Indian export of yarn or fabric will be affected in the short term. Bangladesh buys roughly 45% of India’s total cotton yarn exports. Cotton yarn, fabrics and handloom products made up around $2 billion of India’s $10.58 billion exports to Bangladesh in 2025-26. Any disruption in factories’ timelines means paused yarn intake and likely payment delays.

Siddhartha Rajagopal, executive director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, said there seems to be a marginal impact “even as trade adjusts to getting around the temporary disruptions. Hopefully, the situation should improve soon,” he said.

Rahul Mehta, advisor to the Cloth Manufacturers’ Association of India, said supply chain reactions are usually not immediate. The protests this time are not as huge as the earlier ones. However, since this is the second such protest, international buyers who place orders with Bangladesh manufacturers will factor in the protests when they decide on sourcing garments from Bangladesh factories the next time.

Mr. Jain said the direct impact on India’s imports is likely to be modest, because that channel is already narrowed since India stopped Bangladeshi garments from entering through land ports last year. The bigger exposure is to branded retail that sources apparel from Bangladesh, some of which enters India’s domestic market. “We can expect some delays in that stock. There is also a flip side, since India could gain international orders if the disruption persists,” he said.

In the case of impact on global supplies, Mr. Jain said supply to Christmas may not be mostly affected. Holiday stock for western retailers is typically shipped by early autumn. So the bulk of goods are already on shelves or en route. The potential impact is to late Christmas replenishment orders and next season’s business, as November to February is when Bangladesh manufacturers typically lock in around 40 % of their annual export orders. Depending on how the situation proceeds, buyers may revise spring/summer 2027 orders, and that loss can last far longer than a few delayed shipments, he added.