Bangladesh loses second place in garment exports to the US

In the first half of this year (January-June), Bangladeshi apparel exports to the US market decreased by almost six per cent.

By the end of July, it increased to six and a half per cent.

However, in August, the rate of decline decreased, with apparel exports decreasing by 4.43 per cent.

During the same period, apparel exports from China and India to the United States declined by more than 29 and 26 per cent, respectively.

Even though the decline in apparel exports to the US market slightly decreased, Bangladesh lost its second position to China.

At the end of July, Bangladesh was the second largest apparel exporting country after Vietnam, followed by China.

However, by the end of August, China had taken over Bangladesh's second position.

Bangladesh is now in third place, with a difference of 240 million USD in apparel exports between Bangladesh and China.

This picture emerged from updated data published by the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA). The data shows that in the first eight months of this year (January-August), US apparel imports decreased by 7.42 per cent.

During this time, US traders imported apparel worth 49 billion or 4,900 crore USD.

Analysing OTEXA’s data reveals that in the first eight months of this year, the volume of US apparel imports decreased by 8.98 per cent.

Consequently, the average price per square meter of apparel increased by 1.71 per cent, although the average price of apparel exported from Bangladesh decreased.

During the January-August period of this year, Bangladesh exported apparel worth 5.39 billion USD to the US market, which is 4.43 per cent less compared to the same period last year. The decline in Bangladesh's exports is almost 3 percentage points more than the overall decrease in US apparel imports.

Meanwhile, in terms of volume, Bangladesh exported 1.76 billion square meters of apparel in the first eight months of this year, which is almost 3 per cent less than the same period last year. During this time, the average price per square meter of apparel exported from Bangladesh was 3.07 USD, which is a decrease of 1.73 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Among the countries supplying apparel to the US market, China experienced the largest decline. In the first eight months of this year, China exported apparel worth 5.63 billion USD, which is a decrease of 29.39 per cent compared to the same period last year.

During the same period, India's exports decreased by 26.44 per cent, and Pakistan’s apparel exports decreased by 3.83 per cent. On the other hand, apparel exports from Indonesia and Cambodia increased by 2.58 per cent and 6.91 per cent, respectively.

Vietnam is the top apparel-exporting country to the US market. In the first eight months of this year, it exported apparel worth 10.98 billion USD, a decrease of 0. 76 per cent compared to the same period last year. The average price per square meter of apparel exported from Vietnam was 3. 54 USD, a 0.58 per cent decrease compared to last year.

Among the top 10 exporting countries, the price of Chinese apparel decreased by 9. 93 per cent. In the first eight months of this year, the average price per square meter of apparel exported from China was 1.47 USD, which is half the price of apparel from Bangladesh.

The price of apparel exported from Pakistan to the US from Bangladesh is also low, with the price per square meter equivalent apparel being 2.78 USD.