Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have expressed apprehensions Bangladesh will lose one of the most promising apparel export destinations if various Russian lenders are excluded from the SWIFT messaging system even as Western nations have recently announced harsh set of sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT — Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication or SWIFT is the global financial artery that allows the smooth and rapid transfer of money across borders — international payments system.
Media reports maintained this while adding as per the country’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the July-January period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh sent garment items worth US $ 415.47 million to Russia, which is a growing export destination for Bangladesh’s apparel items, registering a 36.47 per cent year-on-year growth even as in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh exported apparel items worth US $ 593.66 million to Russia.
However, if the ban becomes effective, local exporters will face difficulties in receiving payments from Russian importers, reports underlined, while adding any sanction on Russian lenders on using the SWIFT messaging system could hit Bangladesh’s exports to Russia.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
