Kamruzzaman Bablu :
Over the past decade, the total import of ready-made garments by the United States has declined by 4.82 per cent. Despite this, Bangladesh has significantly increased its apparel exports to the US, achieving a remarkable growth of 50.79 per cent during the same period.
This growth, along with Vietnam’s, can be attributed to a reduction in China’s share of the US market, which has halved over the same timeframe.
According to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US were valued at $4.83 billion in 2014.
This figure rose by 11.74 per cent to $5.40 billion in 2015 and continued to increase gradually, reaching $5.92 billion in 2019. However, exports declined by 11.76 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, falling to $5.23 billion.
In 2021, Bangladesh’s exports rebounded strongly, surging by 36.69 per cent to $7.15 billion, and further increased by 36.13 per cent to $9.73 billion in 2022.
However, in 2023, exports declined significantly by 25.07 per cent, settling at $7.29 billion. This drop occurred amid a broader contraction in US apparel imports, which fell by 22.04 per cent during the same year.
Over the decade, US apparel imports have generally decreased, from $81.78 billion in 2014 to $77.84 billion in 2023. A notable decline was observed in 2020, when imports fell to $64.06 billion from $83.70 billion in 2019, largely due to the pandemic. However, imports recovered in 2021 to $81.59 billion and peaked at $98.86 billion in 2022 before declining again.
China, historically the largest apparel exporter to the US, experienced a substantial decrease in exports, falling by 45.24 per cent from $29.79 billion in 2014 to $16.32 billion in 2023. This decline is largely attributed to the US-China trade war. Vietnam, the second-largest supplier, has captured a significant share of the market vacated by China, with its exports rising by 52.96 per cent from $9.27 billion in 2014 to $14.18 billion in 2023.
Other exporters have also demonstrated varied performance over the decade. India’s apparel exports increased by 31.43 per cent, from $3.40 billion in 2014 to $4.69 billion in 2023. Cambodia’s exports grew by 33.97 per cent, from $2.48 billion to $3.32 billion, while Pakistan achieved a 38.14 per cent increase, from $1.46 billion to $2.02 billion.
Conversely, several countries saw declines in their exports to the US. Indonesia’s exports fell by 13.31 per cent, Mexico’s by 24.66 per cent, Honduras’s by 6.08 per cent, and South Korea’s by 17.99 per cent over the same period.
This data highlights the shifting dynamics in the global apparel supply chain, with countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam emerging as key beneficiaries of the decline in Chinese exports to the US market.
