In a clear indication of lower export orders from European retail brands, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to Europe declined by 11.86 per cent during the period from $10.428 billion of January-May 2022. A major cause for this decline is the high inflation in Europe, which dried up money in the pockets of consumers for discretionary expenditure.

Bangladesh exported apparel valued at $3.913 billion to the North American market, mainly comprising the US and Canada, during the period under discussion. The region’s share was 24.66 per cent in the total shipment. Here too, Bangladesh’s exports declined by 17.3 per cent from $4.732 billion registered in the same period of last year, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro.

During the first five months of 2023, Bangladesh exported apparel to Asia-Pacific of $1.914 billion (12.06%), Middle East $487.315 million (3.07%), Central-South America $287.542 million (1.81%) and Africa $76.408 million (0.48%).Product-wise trade data analysis shows that trousers & shorts dominated Bangladesh’s apparel exports. The shipment of trousers & shorts was valued at $5.547 billion in the first five months of this year, contributing 36.34 per cent in total exports from the country. The value of shipped T-shirts was $3.059 billion (20.04%), shirts $1.996 billion (13.08%), jerseys $1.449 billion (9.62%) and innerwear $705.921 million (4.61%), as per TexPro.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)