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Apparel exports from Bangladesh to the US and European markets have dropped significantly due to the country’s latest political turmoil and energy crisis.
The data of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) shows that in the first 7 months until July of this year, the export income of this sector has decreased by more than 10 percent in the US and in the European markets by 5 per cent respectively.
Industry insiders said it will take at least 7 to 8 months to recover the export losses.
According to BGMEA data, Bangladesh’s fetched $4.09 billion from exports of clothing in USA during the January-July period of this year, while apparel exports to American market reached $4. 09 billion during the same period of last year (2023), showing a 10.28 per cent year-on-year decline.
According to the statistics, Bangladesh was among five countries with decreasing export income in the US market. Meanwhile, China's share in that market dropped by 4.04 per cent, Vietnam's 1.53 percent, Indonesia's 7.82 per cent, and India’s 2.24 percent during the period under review.
However, overall apparel imports by the United States declined by 4.61 per cent during the first seven months of the current calendar year.
On the other hand, Bangladesh garment exports to the EU decreased by 4.84 per cent from January to July this year. Bangladesh was third among the top 4 countries in terms of losing market share in the said market.
Data shows, countries under the European Union imported apparel worth $11.65 billion during the first seven months of 2023, while import eased to $11.11 billion in corresponding period of this year. This import is 4.84 per cent less than the same period last year.
Attributing to the country’s latest mass uprising, power and energy crisis as key reasons for the loss of exports to the UA and EU markets, exporters said it will take months (until next March-April) to return to the trend of positive export growth in these market.
President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Mohammad Hatem said, “The county’s apparel was hit badly from the latest political turmoil and energy crisis. Even we did not receive expected orders for spring, late spring, holiday and fall season from the US and EU buyers. All these have negatively impacted on our overall export earnings”.
He, however, hoped that the RMG industry will back on track again despite these challenges.
Referring to official data, Hatem said, in FY ’09, Bangladesh’s apparel exports stood at just $12 billion. By FY ’24, this figure has surged to over $ 46 billion, reflecting a remarkable increase of approximately $34 billion over 15 years. “This growth demonstrates that a short-term disruption or political unrest cannot undermine the resilience and ability of Bangladesh’s apparel industry.
