Bangladesh’s garment shipments to the USA, which is its top export destination, dropped by 2.58 per cent year over year to US $ 5.46 billion, during the July-February period of the current fiscal year.
Due to significant inflationary pressure that affected Bangladesh’s exports to US markets, American retailers and brands imported 23 per cent fewer garment goods last year than they did the year before.
After China and Vietnam, Bangladesh is the third-largest supplier of apparel to the United States because of its long-standing commercial links and affordable prices.
Bangladesh’s performance has been strong compared to its peers in case of garment export to the USA despite being slapped with a 15.62 per cent tariff, the highest in the world in this particular market.
However, apparel sales have started boosting in the US economy thanks to the recent recovery of the market.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), the largest retailers’ platform in the USA, stated sales in the clothing and accessories stores were up 0.51 per cent month-over-month and up 8.05 per cent year-on-year in February.
“February retail sales indicate continued momentum from consumers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay averred.
“While the future direction of interest rates and inflation remains uncertain, it’s clear that a strong job market and increases in real wages are continuing to support spending.”
The largest trading bloc for Bangladesh, the European Union, received US $ 16.23 billion in garment exports during the July–February fiscal year 2023–24, up 3.27 per cent from the previous year, according to data compiled by the Export Promotion Bureau and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Apparel shipment to Spain, France, Netherlands, Poland and Denmark demonstrated 8.68 per cent, 4.72 percent, 14.55 percent, 21.82 percent and 32.81 percent growth respectively.
However, the apparel export to Italy declined by 0.93 per cent year-on-year in the July-February period.
On the other hand, RMG exports to Germany, the largest market in the EU, declined by 11.63 per cent year-on-year to US $ 4.09 billion.
Concurrently, apparel exports to the UK and Canada were US $ 3.85 billion and US $ 998.77 million, respectively, representing growth rates of 14.64 percent and 1.81 percent year over year.
In the meantime, garment exports to non-traditional areas reached US $ 6.30 billion, growing 10.83 percent year over year.
Exports to South Korea, Japan, and Australia climbed by 17.16 percent, 21.29 percent, and 7.12 percent, respectively, among the main non-traditional markets.
However, from July to February, garment exports to India decreased by 22.99 percent on an annual basis.