The readymade garment exports from Bangladesh continued its downfall for the third consecutive month in May with its overall apparel exports in the first 29 days of the last month registering a decline of around 62 per cent compared to the exports of the corresponding period of the previous year.

As per the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) which cited provisional data from the country’s National Board of Revenue (NBR), garment exports fell by 62.09 per cent to US $ 1.07 billion in first 29 days of the last month compared to what was US $ 2.81 billion in the same period last year.

The declining demand of apparel items and its falling price points in the global market due to COVID-19, experts believe are the major reasons behind the export debacle.

It may be mentioned here that this March, Bangladesh’s apparel exports fell by 30.19 per cent to US $ 1.97 billion from what was US $ 2.82 billion in the same period of 2019 while in April this year, apparel exports fell by a massive 85.25 per cent to US $ 374.67 million from what was US $ 2.54 billion in the corresponding period last year.

As per media reports which quoted BGMEA President Dr. Rubana Huq, all major export markets declined by 8 to 22 per cent while the unit price of apparels in the export bastion of European Union went down by 1.87 per cent and that in USA fell by 0.90 per cent.

The garment exporters in the country are reportedly apprehending apparel export could fall to US $ 5 billion in the March-May period this year more so considering the yet unsettled liability of around US $ 2 billion.