The apparel export to the European Union (EU) saw a positive growth of 14.29 percent to $15.72 billion in the first eight months (July-February) of this fiscal.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), although the country's RMG export earnings from Germany in the EU was the highest, the export to Germany decreased by 1.03 percent to stand at $ 4.62 billion during the time over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
RMG exports to France and Spain were $ 1.89 billion and $ 2.35 billion with 27.65 percent and 18.79 percent growth respectively during the time.
On the other hand, exports to Bulgaria and Poland have shown negative growth.
During the July-February period, exports to the USA declined by 2.87 percent to $5.68 billion while apparel export to Canada and UK increased by 20.05 percent to $3.36 billion and 14.52 percent to $980 million respectively.
In July-February of fiscal year 2022-23, Bangladesh’s apparel export to non-traditional markets also grew by 35.02 percent and reached $5.69 billion.
The exports to the major markets such as Japan, Australia, India and South Korea were $ 1.07billion, $ 767.75 million, $ 753.92 million and $ 387.63 million respectively.
Md Mohiuddin Rubel, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said “Germany's market is our biggest market in Europe and the growth has decreased there. In this case we have to be aware. The European market needs to work to sustain growth. Our exports to non-traditional markets are doing well. Focus on non-traditional markets should be increased.”
We were already giving a hint that exports to the United States may decrease, he said, adding that exports to the United States have fallen due to the global economic downturn.
“2023 was a bit bad for us, but we hope to do very well in 2024. Entrepreneurs now aim to increase export earnings through product and market diversification. The main objective of the traders in this sector is to keep the export income positive by facing all the challenges,” he added.