Dramatic claims have recently been made by Vietnam, where it has now claimed to surpass Bangladesh and has become the second-largest apparel & textile exporter in the world, after China. This claim reported by the Vietnamese news outlet Voice of Vietnam (VOV) stirred controversies between the relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh.
The Controversial Claim
According to VOV,” Hoang Manh Cam , a spokesperson from the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), told that the Vietnamese textile and garment industry captured huge global orders out of this from Bangladesh in 2024. According to him, this resulted in Vietnam becoming the revenue earner of $44 billion, contributing 11% to the world’s apparel exports. On the contrary, Bangladesh is said to have registered a 3.7% decline in exports, which is approximately $27.7 billion, during the first ten months of 2024.
Bangladesh Rejected the Claim
Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers said that Cam lacks statistics saying that both countries account for different items in statements: Vietnam accounts for apparel and textiles as one, whereas Bangladesh differentiates it into apparel, home textiles, and textiles. Consequently, Vinatex’s data-a private institution-cannot be taken as an accurate or official representation of Vietnam’s performance in terms of apparel exports.
The figures reported by Vinatex, as bad as they are, are not at all the same with the official figures from the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam. According to GSO, textile and apparel exports from Vietnam noted $30.57 billion for the period of January to October in 2024. That is contradictory to an amount of $44 billion cited by Vinatex, questioning the credibility of the data presented by a Vietnamese entity.
Statistical Data by WTO Remains Reference
Just like before, industry experts in Bangladesh put their focus on the information published by WTO to assess and rank economies in trade. Mohiuddin Rubel, a former director for BGMEA, said it has become an undisputed fact that to get international export figures regarding WTO, that is the only credible source of data. According to Rubel, income earned from garment-only exportations by Bangladesh is stated at $31.41 billion for the January-October period of the previous year even higher than what Vinatex claims for Bangladesh. He went on to clarify that should Bangladesh account homeowners and other textiles, its total income would be way above Vietnam’s figures.
According to WTO statistics for 2023, Bangladesh maintained the world’s second-largest apparel exporter status with exports of $38 billion, representing a 7.4% share in the global market, while Vietnam took the third position with $31 billion in exports and a 6% market share. It is still China that remains the undisputed leader, accounting for 31.6% of RMG worth $165 billion global export.
Changing Trends and Future Scenarios
The Vinatex spokesperson said that this year, India’s benefited, just like other competitors like Sri Lanka and Turkey, from the shift of orders from Bangladesh. Cam, however, admitted that once again, Bangladesh had shown signs of recovering between September and October 2024.
Industry pundits say the RMG sector of Bangladesh will bear a fruit from the gradual economic recovery in major markets like the USA and the European Union by 2025. Efforts are on the way toward retaining the second spot globally in apparel exports, and manufacturers are gearing up to improve their competitive edge in terms of tackling emerging challenges.
Going Forward
Even though these claims of Vietnam are throwing spice to the ongoing debate on whether Bangladesh has been dethroned by Vietnam regarding apparel exports, Bangladeshi manufacturers are still confident regarding their existing position in the global order. Similar credible data from the WTO will further demonstrate the potential for returning and developing this industry in the coming years.
It can be expected that as both countries will compete in the same vein, they will have a great contribution to the dynamic scenario of the textile and apparel industry worldwide in the coming years.
