Readymade garment (RMG) exports to the country's single-largest destination -- the United States -- bounced back into positive growth in July 2023 after months of fall since January.
Though exports during the first seven months of 2023 (January to July) sustained a negative trend of 19.82 per cent, the single-month earnings in July grew by 7.80 per cent year-on-year, according to the US Department of Commerce's Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) data released on Wednesday.
Bangladesh fetched US$748.02 million in July 2023, which was up from US$693.92 million in July 2022.
The July 2023 earnings were also higher than those in June 2023, when the country earned US$510.18 million. In January this year, the earnings were US$866.14 million, OTEXA data showed.
Meanwhile, the country fetched US$4.56 billion during the first seven months of 2023, which was down from US$5.69 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Apparel exporters attributed the negative growth to the economic slowdown and high inflation in the Western market caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
However, they also said the US economy had started recovering, which was also reflected in the July data.
Despite the negative trend during the first seven months of the current calendar year, Bangladesh is doing better in the global market compared to its other competitors, including China and Vietnam, they said.
They expressed optimism that earnings would increase in the coming months ahead of festivals like Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The US overall imports of apparel from the world during January-July of 2023 declined by 22.28 per cent to US$45.74 billion compared to that of US$58.85 billion in the same period of 2022, data showed.
Data revealed that only Bangladesh witnessed positive growth in July despite the US's overall declining trend in RMG imports.
While talking to The Financial Express, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan said, "We are still doing better compared to our competitors despite a fall in global demand."
He also added that, in recent times, work orders placed by Western buyers have increased.
When asked, Shovon Islam, managing director of Sparrow Group, also echoed the BGMEA leader and added that the huge inventory the US buyers have also started declining, while buyers are placing orders ahead of their (US) festivals like Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Apparel exporters, however, think the global demand is falling mainly because of the adverse domino effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.
China and Vietnam, the key competitors of Bangladesh, saw contractions of 28.75 per cent and 24.76 per cent, respectively, during the January-July period under review, OTEXA showed.
US apparel imports from China stood at US$9.12 billion during the period under review, down from US$12.80 billion. China fetched US$1.85 billion in July 2023, which was US$2.54 billion in July 2022, marking a decline of over 27 per cent.
Vietnam exported apparel worth US$8.21 billion during the first seven months of 2023, which was US$10.91 billion in the same period of 2022, recording a 24.76 per cent decrease.
Vietnam's RMG exports to the US in July 2023 declined by 14.29 per cent to US$1.47 billion from US$1.72 billion in the same period of 2022, according to OTEXA data.
US apparel imports from India and Indonesia marked a 21.13 per cent and 27.26 per cent fall to US$2.91 billion and US$2.47 billion during the January-July period, respectively.
The OTEXA data showed that India's RMG exports to the US market in January-July of 2023 fell by 21.12 per cent to US$2.91 billion compared with those of US$3.69 billion in the same period of the previous year.
US imports from Cambodia fell by 32.10 per cent to US$1.79 billion during the period, the data showed.
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