Apparel exports to US unlikely to rebound soon
Staff Reporter :
The country’s apparel exports to USA have continued falling and are unlikely to rebound this year as the overall demand for clothing items decreased in the market due to high inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh’s readymade garments export to the USA dropped by 5.07 per cent year-on-year to $7.73 billion from $8.14 billion during the July-May period of the current fiscal year (2022-23).
Faruque Hassan, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said even though inflation is showing a down trend in the US, Bangladesh’s export there may continue to decline for a few more months.
“We are expecting garment export to the US to rebound from December onwards as US consumers are still spending less on clothing items,” he said.
The total RMG export reached $42.63 billion with 10.67 per cent year-on-year growth in the 11-month period.
Of the total apparel export, $21.22 billion went to the EU market with a share of 49.78 per cent of total export, the UK held a share of 10.77 per cent and total $4.59 billion has been exported to the UK and $7.73 billion has been exported to USA market, which had a share of 18.14 per cent of total export, the EPB data showed.
On the other hand, Canada held a share of 3.26 per cent and total $1.39 billion has been exported to the destination and $7.69 billion went to the Non-traditional market with a share of 18.04 per cent.
The European Union has contributed significantly to this growth as it is the largest RMG export destination of Bangladesh.
Apparel exports to the destination grew by 9.94 per cent to $ 21.22 billion during the July-May period from $19.30 billion was in the corresponding period of last year.
RMG export to Germany has declined by 7.22 per cent to $6.03 billion from $6.50 billion during the time, while the export to France and Italy soared by 23.4 per cent to $2.6 billion and 44.81 per cent to $2.06 billion respectively.
“At the same time, our export to non-traditional market has increased by 32.74 per cent. Among the major non-traditional markets, Japan has shown 45.80 per cent positive growth while Russia and Chile have shown 28.82 per cent and 11.79 per cent negative growth respectively,” said BGMEA Director Md Mohiuddin Rubel.
According to the data of Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the US Department of Commerce, apparel exports to the US from China, the largest clothing items supplier worldwide, declined by 32.45 per cent year on year in the January-April period.
Vietnam’s exports to America dropped by 27.33 per cent, India’s by 16.59 per cent, and Indonesia’s by 25.57 per cent.
In the January-April period, the US imported $25.21 billion worth of garments, which is 22.15 percent lower than what it imported in the same period last year, said OTEXA.
