While the United States remains the top export destination for Bangladeshi apparel, the first quarter of 2024 saw a significant decline of 17.68% compared to the same period last year. This decrease wasn’t unique to Bangladesh, as exports from other major apparel producers like China, India, and Indonesia to the US also fell during this timeframe.
Despite the conflict with the United States, China has retained the top position in the export of ready-made garments in the domestic market. China exported $3.43 billion worth of ready-made garments to the United States in the first quarter of 2024. The United States bought $3.4 billion worth of clothing from Vietnam. Bangladesh, ranked third, exported $1.76 billion worth of ready-made garments to the USA and imported $1.22 billion and $1.2 billion worth of ready-made garments from India and Indonesia, respectively.
According to OTEXA, Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US fell by 17.68 percent year-on-year. Exports of ready-made garments to its market are down by 25 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. Not only in Bangladesh, exports have decreased; the top exporters of China, India, and Indonesia are no exception. On the contrary, Vietnam is gradually increasing its exports to the US market. In terms of money, the gap in exports of manufactured garments to China has been brought down to only 50 crores dollars. China supplies 19.1 percent of the US apparel market, according to the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA). Vietnam holds the 2nd position in this market of US-made clothing exports. Although the number of exports has decreased, the name of Bangladesh can be found in the third position. Traders believe that the export of manufactured garments from Bangladesh has decreased due to the lack of purchasing power of low-income people in the United States. “US residents cut back on consumption due to high price memory. As a result, retailers reduced imports,” commented BGMEA President, Mr. Farooq Hasan. He also said, “Last year, the stock of unsold goods in the United States was high. Therefore, the import of ready-made clothes in the country was low even before events like Christmas. The stock is almost at its end. As a result, the businessmen of the United States will increase the import of ready-made clothes within this year.”
In the 1st quarter of 2024, the import of manufactured garments from different countries was 1807 crores dollars, compared to 1946 crores dollars in 2023. Whereas imports decreased by 7.14% in the first quarter of the year. Not just by quarter, but by year, the United States has reduced its purchases of ready-made garments. In 2022, their import amount was 9986 crores dollars. After a year, the amount of imports decreased by 22 percent to 7784 crores dollars. However, BGMEA President Farooq Hasan is optimistic that the problem will be overcome.
