Vietnam ranked third, with a market share of 6 per cent and exports worth $31 billion in 2023.

A WTO report titled ‘World Trade Statistics 2023: Key Insights and Trends’ said Bangladesh’s share of global RMG exports, however, dropped to 7.4 per cent last year from 7.9 per cent in 2022. In 2021, the share was 6.4 per cent, a significant leap.

The WTO figure for total RMG exports of Bangladesh last year, however, does not match with that offered by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of the country—$47.39 billion.

Turkiye exported apparel items worth $19 billion last year and ranked fourth, with a market share of 3.6 per cent, while India ranked fifth, with a market share of 3 per cent and exports worth $15 billion, the WTO report revealed.

The European Union (EU) remained the top RMG importer, with 35.8 per cent of global share and imports worth $203 billion, while the United States ranked second, with 15.7 per cent share and imports worth $89 billion in 2023.

Japan imported clothing worth $26 billion in 2023, with a global share of 4.5 per cent, while the United Kingdom and South Korea imported RMG worth $21 billion (3.8 per cent share) and $13 billion (2.3 per cent share) respectively.

In 2023, world merchandise trade volume fell by 1.2 per cent after a 3-per cent expansion in 2022, the WTO report said.

Trade contraction was sharper in value terms, recording a 5 per cent decline, due to reduced volumes, lower prices for primary commodities, and exchange rate fluctuations. Despite the decline, the value of merchandise trade was 25 per cent above 2019 levels.

Trade in goods declined by 5 per cent last year. As a result, the share of goods in global trade decreased from 77.8 per cent in 2022 to 75.3 per cent in 2023.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)