Three years ago, the primary markets, specifically Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, were responsible for approximately 84 per cent of the total revenue from apparel exports by Bangladesh even as by the close of the 2022-23 fiscal year, this figure has declined to just over 82 per cent.
Reports underlined this adding Bangladesh’s garment entrepreneurs were now putting in concerted efforts to diversify their export markets and reduce their heavy dependence on Europe and the US, which have yielded positive results.
Apparel exports to markets beyond the traditional European and North American destinations, often referred to as “non-traditional markets” by exporters, are expanding, and their share of the overall garment shipments is on the rise.
In the period from July to September of the current fiscal year 2023-24, non-traditional markets accounted for 19.3 per cent of the US $ 11.6 billion generated through garment exports, as reported by data compiled by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
In the same period a year ago, this figure stood at 17.4 per cent.
Looking at it from another angle, garment exports to these non-traditional markets, saw a substantial 25 per cent year-on-year growth even as in comparison, growth in Europe, the largest market for Bangladesh’s exporters, was at 11.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, in the US, which is the second-largest destination for Bangladesh’s apparel, the growth rate was considerably lower, at around 3 per cent.
One significant reason behind this shift is the heightened efforts of exporters, as the potential for growth in Europe is becoming more limited, according to Fazlul Hoque, the managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd.
Additionally, Hoque, a former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, noted that buyers in non-traditional markets are reducing their reliance on Chinese suppliers.
