Bangladesh, the second largest apparel exporter after China globally, is witnessing an increase in shipments of readymade garments to non-traditional markets lately. As per reports, the country has registered a 32.74 per cent year-on-year increase in apparel exports to the non-traditional markets in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. This is as per the figures of the country’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), which further added shipments of ‘Made in Bangladesh’ apparel to two major markets – Germany and the US, witnessed a decline of 7.22 per cent and 5.07 per cent respectively. The EPB data further showed apparel exports to India, Korea, Japan, Australia and China recorded 46 per cent to 26 per cent growth in the July-May period of the fiscal 2022-23 even if export to India was close to the US $ 1 billion mark with 46.44 per cent growth, compared to only US $ 647.27 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year while Japan had imported US $ 1.5 billion worth of apparel from Bangladesh. Meanwhile, speaking to the media, BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim reportedly claimed apparel exports from Bangladesh may not continue to grow in the coming months as many factories were facing order shortages and operating at around 30 per cent lower capacity.

Source: Economic Times June 15, 2023 09:48 UTC