Despite global inflationary pressures, Bangladesh has witnessed notable growth in apparel exports to the EU, UK, and Canada.
However, the situation differs for the US, as exports to the country, which serves as the largest destination for Bangladeshi garments, have declined by 5.07 per cent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2022-23, as reported by the Export Promotion Bureau.
During the first 11 months of FY ’23, the United States imported apparel products worth US $ 7.73 billion from Bangladesh, which is a decrease compared to the previous year’s corresponding period when the exports amounted to US $ 8.15 billion.
81 per cent of Bangladesh’s apparel exports are sent to the US, UK, EU, and Canadian markets, with the last 11 months seeing exports worth US $ 33.54 billion out of a total of US $ 42.63 billion.
The EU remains a key market for Bangladeshi garments, comprising around 50 per cent of total exports. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal, Bangladesh saw a 9.94 per cent growth in garment exports to the EU, amounting to US $ 21.22 billion, compared to the same period last year. Previous fiscal’s total exports to the EU reached US $ 21.4 billion.
Meanwhile, BKMEA VP raised concerns over the work order situation in the garment industry due to high inflation in major markets even as factory capacities reduced by 20-30 per cent on account of the same impacting operations.
