Bangladesh's apparel exports to the United States plunged by more than 36 per cent in January 2024.
Exporters said the ongoing sluggish economy, triggered by the twin crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, left retailers in the USA with excess inventory and discouraged Western buyers from placing new orders.
The slump in the country's biggest export market is evident in both value and volume of exports, according to US official data.
Figures released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) on March 7 showed that Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) exports to the USA totalled $549.98 million in January 2024 - a 36.50-percent fall compared to the $866.08 million earned in January 2023.
The US imported 175 million square metres of apparel items from Bangladesh in January 2024, which was about 34 per cent lower than the 266 million square metres shipped in January 2023.
The overall US imports of apparel in the first month of 2024 from the world also decreased by 16.53 per cent to $6.04 billion, down from $7.23 billion in January 2023.
The data also showed that Bangladesh's key competitors, China and Vietnam, also registered negative export growth of 2.03 per cent and 4.76 per cent respectively to the US market in January 2024, reflecting a better condition than Bangladesh.
"Overall US apparel imports had fallen in 2023, and consequently, so had those from Bangladesh," said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
He said the OTEXA data showed the goods that entered the US port and those were shipped in November and until mid-December last year.
"The decline in demand is due mainly to the negative domino effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has driven up inflation and interest rates," Mr Hassan told The Financial Express on Saturday.
This has resulted in high inventory levels held by buyers and reduced work orders throughout last year, he added.
However, the BGMEA president noted that the US retail sales in December improved, leading to a decrease in inventory levels. Consequently, the buyers have recently started placing more work orders, he said, expecting increased exports from the coming months.
He stressed the need for uninterrupted gas and electricity supply to help grow exports.
OTEXA data shows that China's apparel exports to the US in January 2024 stood at $1.41 billion, a 2.03 per cent decline from US$2.44 billion in January 2023.
Similarly, US apparel imports from Vietnam and India in January 2024 experienced negative growth of 4.76 per cent and 27.11 per cent respectively, reaching $1.20 billion and $353.71 million.
Exports from Cambodia and Indonesia saw respective declines of 10.65 per cent and 34.49 per cent, according to data.
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