Bangladesh was the top supplier of cotton-made T-shirts globally in 2017, exporting about US $ 5.1 billion worth of items, according to a latest stat, unveiled by an independent body.
According to a report of World’s Top Exports (WTEx), an independent education and research website, Bangladesh occupied a total of 18.3 per cent of global supply of cotton-made T-shirts worldwide, putting global leader China in second place.
China was ranked second in the cotton T-shirt exporter’s list with US $ 4 billion, followed by Turkey at US $ 1.7 billion, and Germany at US $ 1.4 billion. Emerging Asian exporter- India bagged fifth position with US $ 1.2 billion worth of export, occupying 4.4 per cent market share.
Overall, Bangladesh was the second highest exporter of T-shirts (cotton as well as synthetic), selling US $ 5.9 billion worth of items worldwide and occupying 13.3 per cent market share next to giant China which exported US $ 8.2 billion worth T-shirts. India stood fifth with US $ 1.9 billion earning.
T-shirt exports totalled US $ 44.3 billion in 2017, up by an average 4.3 per cent for all T-shirt exporters over a five-year period starting in 2013. Year-over-year, value of globally exported T-shirts rose by 1.2 per cent from 2016 to 2017, the report stated.
In a nutshell, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported T-shirts (inclusive of all materials) during 2017 with shipments valued at US $ 25.1 billion or 56.7 per cent of worldwide exports.
Mohammad Hatem, Vice President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) and former Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told Apparel Resources that the figure is a lot lesser than what he had expected.
“Bangladesh is known as a sourcing hub for cotton made T-shirts. We export knit products of over US $ 13 billion annually. What I am certain about is that more than half of it was T-shirt order. So, you see, according to me, the stats should have come out higher,” he said.
Going forward, he pitched that the amount in US dollars would have come out higher if the buyers (retailers and brands) had followed fair pricing policies towards Bangladesh.