As one of the world’s major textile and clothing exporting countries, Bangladesh has maintained its export momentum in recent years. Data shows that in 2023, Meng’s clothing exports amounted to 47.3 billion US dollars, while in 2018, Meng’s clothing exports were only 32.9 billion US dollars.
Ready to wear exports account for 85% of the total export value
The latest data from the Bangladesh Export Promotion Agency shows that in the first half of the 2024 fiscal year (July to December 2023), the total export value of Bangladesh was $27.54 billion, a slight increase of 0.84%. There has been no growth in exports to the largest export region, the European Union, the largest destination, the United States, the third largest destination, Germany, one of the largest trading partners, India, the main destination of the European Union, Italy, and Canada. The above-mentioned countries and regions account for about 80% of Bangladesh’s total exports.
Industry insiders say that the weak export growth is due to excessive dependence on the clothing industry, as well as domestic factors such as power and energy shortages, political instability, and labor unrest.
According to the Financial Express, knitwear contributes over 47% to Bangladesh’s total export revenue, becoming the largest source of foreign exchange income for Bangladesh in 2023.
Data shows that in 2023, the total export value of goods from Bangladesh was 55.78 billion US dollars, and the export value of ready to wear clothing was 47.38 billion US dollars, accounting for nearly 85%. Among them, knitwear exports amounted to 26.55 billion US dollars, accounting for 47.6% of the total export value; Textile exports amounted to 24.71 billion US dollars, accounting for 37.3% of the total export value. In 2023, the total export value of goods increased by 1 billion US dollars compared to 2022, of which the export of ready to wear increased by 1.68 billion US dollars, and its proportion continued to expand.
However, the Daily Star of Bangladesh reported that although the taka depreciated significantly last year, the comprehensive profit of 29 listed clothing export companies in Bangladesh decreased by 49.8% due to rising loan, raw material, and energy costs.
Compete with Chinese clothing in the European and American markets
It is worth noting that Bangladesh’s clothing exports to the United States have almost doubled within five years. According to data from the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh’s clothing exports to the United States reached 5.84 billion US dollars in 2018, exceeding 9 billion US dollars in 2022 and 8.27 billion US dollars in 2023.
Meanwhile, in the past few months, Bangladesh has been competing with China to become the largest exporter of ready to wear clothing to the UK. According to data from the UK government, between January and November last year, Bangladesh replaced China four times to become the largest clothing exporting country in the UK market, in January, March, April, and May.
Although in terms of value, Bangladesh remains the second largest exporter of clothing to the UK market, in terms of quantity, Bangladesh has been the largest exporter of ready to wear clothing to the UK market since 2022, closely followed by China.
In addition, the denim industry is the only industry in Bangladesh that has demonstrated its strength in a short period of time. Bangladesh started its denim journey a few years ago, even less than ten years ago. But in this short period of time, Bangladesh has surpassed China to become the largest exporter of denim fabric in the European and American markets.
According to Eurostar data, Bangladesh exported denim fabric worth $885 million to the European Union (EU) from January to September 2023. Similarly, Bangladesh’s denim exports to the United States have also surged, with high demand from American consumers for the product. During the period of January to October last year, Bangladesh exported denim worth 556.08 million US dollars. Currently, Bangladesh’s annual denim exports exceed $5 billion globally.
Post time: Aug-02-2024