Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the European Union in the 11 months from January to November of 2023 declined by 19.92 per cent to 16.26 billion euro compared with those of 20.30 billon euro in the same period of 2022.
Exporters said that the shipment of readymade garments to the EU market decreased in recent months due to the economic slowdown caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, global brands and buyers were also placing orders in decreased quantity due to the election time political tension in Bangladesh but the orders started to increase after the national election in the country.
They hoped that the export would rebound on the EU market in the next quarter as buyers started to increase their orders thanks to easing inflation.
According to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the readymade garment imports of the EU from the world in January-November of 2023 fell by nearly 10 per cent to 82.71 billion euro from those of 91.89 billon euro in the same period of 2022.
Apparel imports of the EU from China in the first 11 months of 2023 declined by 21.42 per cent to 21.15 billion euro compared with those of 26.92 billion euro in the same period of 2022.
Although China remained as the top apparel exporter to the EU in value, the Eurostat data showed that, in terms of volume, Bangladesh emerged as the highest knitwear exporter to the market in January-November of 2023.
The country’s woven garment exports to the EU in the first 11 months of 2023 stood at 6.89 billion kilogram while those of China were 5.74 billion kilogram.
In value, Bangladesh’s knitwear exports to the EU in January-November of 2023 stood at 9.94 billion euro against China’s exports of 10.48 billion euro in the period, data showed.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Faruque Hassan recently said that apparel exports to the EU would come back on a positive track in the second quarter of 2024 as the inflation was coming down in the western countries and retail sales were getting better.
He also said that not only Bangladesh but also all the major RMG suppliers witnessed negative growth in the EU and the United States as the global demand decreased due to the economic turmoil.
Apparel imports of the EU from Turkey in January-November of 2023 declined by 13.42 per cent to 9.20 billion euro compared with those of 10.62 billion euro in the same period of 2022, the data showed.
India’s RMG exports to the EU in the first 11 months of 2023 also fell by 11.87 per cent to 3.81 billion euro compared with those of 4.33 billon euro in the same period of 2022.
Apparel imports of the EU from Vietnam in January-November of 2023, however, grew by 2.48 per cent to 3.49 billion euro compared with those of 3.40 billion euro in the same period of 2022, the data showed.
New Age
