Bangladesh’s apparel export to the United States of America, which is the largest export destination for the country (Bangladesh), has taken a beating due to the coronavirus pandemic and fell by 16.61 per cent to US $ 519.37 million in January 2021 from what was US $ 622.82 million in January 2020.
This is claimed by media reports which cited the data of the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel —the data further underlined that total apparel import by the US from the world dropped by 18.34 per cent in January 2021 to US $ 5.52 billion from US $ 6.76 billion in the same month of the previous year — in this direction even as apparel exporters, reportedly, maintained that that the overall consumption of apparels had decreased across the globe and woven products, in particular, experienced a sharp decline amidst the pandemic.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, the former Vice-President of the apex garment makers in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), reportedly, stated that US has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and went on to add that US was the largest market for ‘Made in Bangladesh’ woven garments and the sub-sector (woven) witnessed a sharp decline in export growth during the pandemic, which is subsequent to demand for woven garments, reportedly, falling to its worst-ever levels.