Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) exports to the European Union totaled US $ 19.90 billion during July-April of 2023-24 fiscal, marking a 3.66 per cent rise compared to the same period in the previous fiscal, according to the latest statistics from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Exports increased by 6.07 per cent, 3.42 per cent, 17.51 per cent, 20.65 per cent, and 32 per cent to Spain, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Denmark, in that order. However, there was a 2.45 per cent decrease in apparel shipments to Italy.
The main EU market for Bangladesh’s RMG exports, Germany, saw a notable 9.40 per cent reduction in export values, to US $ 5.01 billion, when compared to the same time in the previous fiscal year.
In the US, RMG exports fell by 1.90 per cent, reaching US $ 6.81 billion in the first ten months of FY 2023-24.
Conversely, imports of apparel from Bangladesh increased significantly in the UK and Canada, totaling US $ 4.8 billion and US $ 1.26 billion, respectively, indicating rises of 14.55 per cent and 2.95 per cent year over year.
Strong growth was seen in exports to non-traditional markets, which rose from US $ 7 billion to US $ 7.70 billion in the previous year, a 10 per cent increase. Of them, exports to South Korea, Australia, and Japan increased by 6.14 per cent, 17.18 percent, and 14.73 per cent, in that order.
