Bangladesh underperformed other competitive countries in terms of readymade garment export growth to the United States in the first half of 2024.
According to data released by the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the United States, the country’s largest export destination, fell 10.97 per cent to US $ 3.40 billion in January-June 2024, compared to US $ 3.82 billion in the same period in 2023.
In terms of volume, Bangladesh exported 1.11 billion square metres of garments from January to June 2024, a 5.0 per cent decline from 1.17 billion square metres exported the previous year.
Exporters attributed the fall in market share in the US to long lead times, unreliable energy supplies and high business costs.
The US’ apparel imports from Vietnam totalled US $ 6.58 billion in January-June 2024, reflecting a 2.31 per cent year-over-year decrease, according to the OTEXA data released on August 6.
During the same year, China’s garment exports to the United States declined by 6.37 per cent to US $ 6.81 billion.
The OTEXA data also showed that overall US apparel imports fell by 6.04 per cent to US $ 35.74 billion in the first half of 2024, down from US $ 38.04 billion in the same time in 2023.
Exporters reported that they were experiencing gas and electrical challenges, which were preventing companies from running at full capacity.
Furthermore, growing Chinese investment in Vietnam has allowed the country to benefit from China’s shifting priorities, increasing Vietnamese exports to the US market, they stated.
According to OTEXA data, US garment imports from Cambodia increased by 4.45 per cent to US $ 1.52 billion between January and June 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
Conversely, India’s RMG exports to the US market fell 2.64 per cent to US $ 2.44 billion, while Indonesia’s fell 9.75 per cent to US $ 1.91 billion over the same time.
