FE Report

Malek Spinning Mills Limited Saturday unveiled its plan to produce polyester chips in the country, saying the ambitious move would steer the country's textile sector towards the fastest-growing non-cotton fibre business.

Managing director of the company A Matin Chowdhury, said the proposed New Asia Synthetic Limited would unlock new avenues in the textile sector that were never explored, spawning new factories and small and medium enterprises.

"Use of non-cotton fibres in the world is more than twice that of cotton fibres. So if we want to be big in textile business and sustain our growth, we have to go into polyester chips to produce synthetic or non-cotton yarn in a large-scale," he said.

The Tk5.15 billion plant would go into production in 2011-12, producing some 300 tonnes of polyester chips in the first phase. The Narayanganj-based company would also have room and facilities to double its growth.

Matin Chowdhury said that the consumption of non-cotton fibres increased to around 45 million tonnes in 2007 while cotton grew to only 20 million tonnes during the period.

"Some 60 per cent of the world's production is based on synthetic, where in Bangladesh the figure is less than 10 per cent," he said, adding more companies would go into synthetic textile after his company's entry into chips business.

"The market share of world cotton is expected to decline to 31 per cent by 2020. So this is the high time to go operation of the product," Matin said:

Currently, local entrepreneurs import the entire polyester chips from India, Korea, Middle-East countries and Singapore.

Polyester chips are the basic plastic raw material component, which is a derivative of petroleum. It is used for a variety of purposes namely non-cotton clothing, plastic bottles, packaging, high tensile cord that is used for winding on tyres, strings for rackets, for tempering shatter-proof glass.

Malek Spinning said Bangladesh needs between 250 and 350 tonnes a day and his major clients will be Kader Synthetics, Beximco Synthetics, Modern fibre Industries Limited, TK Group of Industries and MEG Group.

It also beverage and oil containers consume some 150 tonnes of chips a day.