Apart from the US, European Union and Canada all others are considered non-traditional or emerging markets for Bangladesh. Of those, eleven are performing stronger than others. Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Turkey are the eleven stronger markets. Bangladesh’s garment exports to non-traditional markets grew 36.21 per cent year on year in the current fiscal year’s first six months. This was made possible by a stimulus package and duty-free market access. Japan extends duty-free trade privilege to garments imported from least developed countries to reduce over dependence on China. Similarly, China, the largest apparel supplier worldwide, has also been turning into a major export destination for Bangladesh. China also allows duty-free access to over 5,000 Bangladeshi products, most of which are garment items. India, Brazil, Mexico and Chile are also turning into major export destinations for Bangladesh.
Garment exports to non-traditional markets have been growing since 2010-11 with a five per cent cash incentive as a stimulus package to offset the fallout of the financial recession that affected the global economy in 2007 and 2008. The stimulus package has encouraged exporters to start exploring new markets. Most of these new markets have duty-free access facility for Bangladeshi exporters.
