MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bangladesh’s cotton imports in 2019 are likely to fall 15 percent from the previous year as lower yarn prices are forcing spinners to cut overseas purchases, head of a trade body said on Thursday.

The world’s biggest fibre importer bought 7.2 million bales of cotton in 2018.

Yarn prices have fallen around 10 percent in local market and with reduced margins of spinners, imports have become less lucrative, said Mehdi Ali, president of Bangladesh Cotton Association, on a sidelines of Cotton India conference in Mumbai.

Bangladesh buys most of cotton from India, the world’s biggest cotton producer.

India’s share in total shipments has been coming down due to quality issues and may stand at 40 percent in 2019 compared with 46 percent a year ago, Ali said.

“Buyers are shifting to Brazil and Africa due to quality issues even as they have to pay more,” he said.