Bangladesh's apparel exports rose by over 40% for two month

Bangladesh' s apparel export rose sharply in Oct

According to the latest data, Bangladesh' s apparel export value amounted to 3.56 billion USD in Oct, up by 53.3% year-on-year and 4.2% month-on-month respectively. The apparel export value rose by 27.5% in Jan-Oct. In terms of varieties, the export value of knitted apparel performed better than woven one, the export value of knitted apparel rose by 13.6% compared with 2019, while that of woven apparel dropped by 7%, indicating that it did not recover to pre-Covid level. The proportion of Bangladesh' s home textile export value in the total was small but it has increased significantly since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Jan-Oct, Bangladesh' s home textile export value rose by 121.5% year-on-year from January to October and up 46.2% from the same period in 2019.

In terms of monthly changes, except for the contraction in January, February and July, the Bangladesh' s apparel exports increased to varying degrees in other months, especially from April to May under the influence of a low base last year, and then from September to October. However, compared with the same period in 2019, the exports decreased in Jan-Jul except for June, indicating that the exports still did not recover to the pre-Covid level. After that, the growth rate began to accelerate from August to October, with a growth rate of more than 40% from September to October, indicating that it recovered rapidly.

Bangladesh' s apparel exports recovered better this year, mainly in August-October. Although Bangladesh' s home textile exports accounted for a small proportion, the growth was relatively bright, with double-digit growth in most of the months except for a slight contraction in July this year. It has maintained a faster growth rate than the same period in 2019, with the exception of a slightly low growth rate in January, February and April, and has maintained a growth rate of 40% or more in other months, indicating that Bangladesh' s home textile exports have grown rapidly since last year. This was also confirmed in the Chinese, Pakistani and Indian markets, with a marked increase in global home textile demand.

Bangladesh' s apparel and home textile exports were greatly affected by the recovery of European and American markets. The Bangladesh' s apparel and home textile exports were blocked when the epidemic in the United States and the European Union was serious, but the exports were evident in volumes in the process of gradual recovery of demand from Europe and the United States. It is mainly because Europe and the United States are the two major destinations for Bangladesh' s apparel and home textile, of which exports to Europe account for more than 60% and exports to the United States are about 18-19%.

What kind of apparel does Bangladesh mainly export?

Since Bangladesh' s apparel exports are so important, what changes have taken place in Bangladesh' s export products in recent years?

The main products of Bangladesh' s apparel exports are trousers, T-shirts & Knitted shirts, sweaters, Shirts & Blouses and underwear, of which trousers accounted for the largest proportion, around 1/3, followed by T-shirts & Knitted shirts. Judging from the changing trend in recent years, the proportion of trousers, T-shirts & Knitted shirts, shirts and sweaters showed a downward trend, of which the proportion of trousers, T-shirts & Knitted shirt increased this year, while sweaters, underwear and other products showed growth.

In conclusion, Bangladesh is the main apparel base in the world, and it apparel industry is the pillar industry. Apparel exports accounted for more than 80% of the total exports. However, the self-sufficiency rate of domestic textile raw materials and semi-finished products in Bangladesh is low, and most of them rely on imports. Cotton, cotton yarn and fabrics are mainly dependent on imports, because its domestic labor costs are far lower than China, and Bangladesh exports tariffs in Europe and the United States have more advantages than China. Therefore, Indian textile mills reported that the price of cotton yarn exported to Bangladesh was higher than that of the Chinese market, so Indian yarn exports are also less dependent on China this year.