Ridan Mehran Mahbub
Bangladesh’s apparel industry has been experiencing rapid growth in its export to the United States. With a 45.53% growth compared to January 2021, Bangladesh’s Readymade Garment (RMG) sector has shown its resilience and capabilities with a positive recovery from the covid-19 pandemic, which devastated the global apparel industry last two years. There has also been a 42.17 percent growth in volume as well, with growth from 198.62 million square meters in January 2021 to 282.38 square meters in January 2022.
Bangladesh’s apparel export to the USA have risen by more than 49 percent (year-on-year) to $5.08 billion during July-January period of 2021-22 fiscal year.
According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) – the apex trade body for the apparel business, Bangladesh’s garment shipment during the corresponding period of the earlier fiscal was $3.40 billion. The industry insiders attributed the spectacular rise of Bangladesh’s export into the US market to improved product quality and American buyers’ increased confidence in Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers.
The reasons behind rise in the demand for Bangladeshi garment products could be traced back to the gradual economic recovery in the developed economy because of the successful Covid-19 vaccination campaigns, shifting orders from China due to the fear of trade war between US & China, Bangladeshi manufacturers abilities to supply big volume orders and buyers’ confidence on “Made in Bangladesh” products.
Bangladeshi apparel products have been growing constantly to North American market that includes USA and Canada. “Bangladesh is a reliable source of ready to wear garment; therefore, export has been increasing via all the windows even amid the Covid-19 pandemic. We have succeeded to brand ‘Made in Bangladesh’ and, I think it worked,” said Muhammad Hatem, Executive President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
“Bangladesh has improved her infrastructure substantially. It has been very fruitful as the country continues trading with the global partners,” said Asif Ashraf, a director of BGMEA and Managing Director of Urmi Group.
In calendar year 2021, USA imported $7.4 billion of garment items from Bangladesh. Bangladesh has become the highest denim exporter to the USA and the country shipped $798.42 million worth of blue jeans to the American market, having 21.69 percent of the US market share, the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) reported.
During the last eight months of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh fetched $27.49 billion from the international market by exporting primarily trousers, T-shirts, sweaters, blouses, underwear etc.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh fetched $7.14 billion from RMG exports to the US in 2021, making the United States Bangladesh’s largest export destination. Meanwhile, overall global imports by the United States in January 2022 has increased from 5.52 billion to 7.54 billion, a 36.6 percent rise. As a result, Bangladesh’s main competitors China and Vietnam also witnessed 47.11 per cent and 19.15 per cent growth respectively.
According to a report by international consulting firm McKinsey & Company, 80 percent of American and European clothing companies planned to move their outsourcing from China, where wages had risen, and were considering Bangladesh as the “next hot spot” making it the “next China”.
If the current export growth momentum can be maintained, then annual garment export from Bangladesh would exceed US$ 40 billion and much talked “50 billion dollars” export target could be achieved by Bangladesh apparel industry.
