Shawdesh Desk:

Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to the United States in October 2024 recorded the highest growth marking a 25-per cent increase in quantity and a 26-per cent rise in value compared with those in the same month of 2023.

The US’ apparel imports from Bangladesh in October 2024 surged to 227.5 million square metres worth $731 million compared with those of 181.8 million square metres worth $578 million in October 2023, according to the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel under the US Department of Commerce.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US in September 2024 also recorded substantial growth of 19 per cent to 216.2 million square metres compared with those of 181.7 million square metres shipped in September 2023.

Similarly, the export value in September 2024 climbed to $705.20 million, marking a 19-per cent increase from the $594.44 million achieved during the corresponding month of 2023.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s RMG exports to the US in January-October period of 2024 decreased by 3.31 per cent compared with those in the same period of 2023.

This was a sharper decline compared to the overall world import drop of 0.43 per cent, indicating that Bangladesh’s performance was below the global trend.

Other competitor countries, such as Vietnam, India, and Cambodia, experienced positive growth in apparel exports to the US during the period.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US in the first 10 months of 20-24 declined to $6.15 billion compared with those of $6.36 billion in the same period of 2023.

In terms of volume, Bangladesh exported 1.96 billion square metres of apparel from January to October period of 2024 with 1.6 per cent growth.

The OTEXA data showed that Bangladesh retained a substantial share of 9.12 per cent, positioning it as the third-largest apparel exporter to the US after China 20.83 per cent and Vietnam 18.88 per cent.

The US’ apparel imports from Vietnam grew by 3.87 per cent to $ 12.70 billion in January-October of 2024, while the imports from China declined by 1.41 per cent to $14.03 billion.

The OTEXA data showed that the US’ apparel imports from Cambodia grew by 12.86 per cent to $3.22 billion in the first 10 months of 2024 compared with those of $2.86 billion in the same period in 2023.

India’s RMG exports to the US market increased by 2.68 per cent to $4.05 billion, while those of Pakistan grew by 4.44 per cent to $1.80 billion in the same period.