Kamruzzaman Bablu :
The Bangladesh’s readymade garment products export growth to the European Union (EU) declined in the 3rd quarter of this fiscal year and reached €15.19 billion, compared to €15.88 billion in the same period the previous year.
From January to October this year, the European Union’s imports from Bangladesh saw a growth of only 0.8 percent, according to Eurostat data, the statistical office of the EU.
However, the quantity increased by 6.68 percent, but this was due to a 4.92 percent decrease in product prices.
During this period, EU countries imported a total of €71.47 billion worth of apparel products from various countries, which is an increase of 0.16 percent only compared to the previous year.
Sources said, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the European Union in October see slight positive growth of 33.78 percent year-on-year, marking the strongest performance in the first 10 months of 2024.
Exporters said that the flow of work orders from global buyers had been increasing but nearly 34 percent surge in exports to the EU in October was abnormal.
They said that the shipments halted in July and August, caused by political instability and labour unrest, were likely deferred to September.
This backlog of shipments contributed to the surge in export growth in October, they said.
Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, former vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, remarked that while global buyers were increasing their orders to Bangladesh, the dramatic spike in October’s exports seemed unusual.
He emphasized that the backlog of shipments from previous months likely fueled the surge. Babu also expressed optimism regarding future business trends, stating that if the law and order situation improves, Bangladesh could expect an increase in global orders.
According to the EU data, Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to the EU faced steep declines early in the year 2024 but managed to rebound in the August, September and October.
From January to October of 2024, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU saw poor growth of 0.76 percent, reaching 15.19 billion Euros, up from 15.08 billion Euros during the same period in 2023.
This limited growth was primarily due to significant declines in exports during January, February and March.
Among the main garment exporters to the European Union, also China’s exports increased slightly, 0.24 percent to €20.03 billion during this period. Turkey, the third largest garment exporter in the EU region, also experienced a negative growth of 6.18 percent. During this period, Turkey exported garments worth €7.9 billion.
The European Union (EU) continued to be China’s second-largest trading partner during the first 11 months of the year, with bilateral trade registering a 1.3-percent increase, marginally up 0.1 percentage point from the January-October period,Among other major garment suppliers to the EU, Vietnam exported garments worth €3.27 billion, with a growth of 2.46 percent. And Pakistan exported garments worth €2.88 billion, with a growth of 20.66 percent.
However, in October 2024, Bangladesh saw a huge 33.78 percent growth compared to the previous year, which is the strongest growth record in the last 10 months.
In October 2024, European Union countries imported a total of €1.75 billion worth of apparel from Bangladesh which was 1.30 billion in October 2023.
