Apparel export to non-traditional markets grew by 25pc
Staff Reporter :
Although garment shipments from Bangladesh to major destinations saw downtrend over the past few months due to inflationary pressure stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war, rising exports to non-traditional markets has emerged as a silver lining.
The country’ apparel export to the non-traditional markets grew by around 25 per cent in the first three months (July-September) period of the current fiscal year.
Exporters said that Bangladesh’s apparel sector is performing well in non-traditional markets due to the relatively stronger economic performances of these markets compared to their Western counterparts followed by the Covid-19 recovery.
As per the latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), apparel export to non-traditional markets grew by 24.93 per cent to $2.24 billion during the July-September period from $1.80 billion in the corresponding period of previous year.
Among the major non-traditional markets, exports to Japan, Australia and South Korea increased by 39.44 per cent, 54.11 per cent and 37.01 per cent respectively.
However, the apparel exports to India declined by 7.69 per cent, the EPB data showed.
Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, Chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), told The New Nation, “The new markets are growing larger, which is a good indication for the apparel industry.
The export growth of Australia, Japan, and Korea has contributed to an increase in market share as these economies are doing better despite the global economic slowdown.”
High inflation in the US and an economic recession in Germany have had an impact on Bangladesh’s apparel exports to those markets, he added.
However, RMG export to the European Union reached $5.51 billion with 11.47 per cent year-on-year growth.
Apparel exports to Spain, France, Netherlands and Italy showed 23.26 per cent, 8.67 per cent, 18.97 per cent and 23.22 per cent growth respectively.
On the other hand, Germany, the largest export market in the EU, declined by 4.41 per cent with an amount of $1.45 billion compared to the July-September 2022-23, the EPB data showed.
RMG exports to the USA stood at $2.07 billion in the first three months of FY24 with 2.77 per cent Year-on-Year growth.
At the same time, exports to the UK and Canada reached $1.45 billion and $352.86 million with 21.35 per cent and 5.44 per cent growth respectively.
BGMEA Vice-President Shahidulla Azim said the rising growth of exports to non-traditional markets has been offsetting the declining trend in shipments to major destinations.
