Apparel exports to the United States experienced a negative year-on-year growth of 25.07% to $7.29 billion in 2023, according to the most recent data from the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa). In 2022, Bangladesh exported apparel items worth $9.72 billion to the US, the single largest destination of the country’s RMG products, Otexa data said.
Securing the third position, Bangladesh has a 9.37% share in the apparel market of the North American country. Almost all of the major apparel suppliers to the US faced negative growths due to the curtailed demands thanks to high inflation and economic turmoil emerged as the consequences of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
In 2023, the overall apparel imports of the North American country plunged by 22.04% to $77.84 billion, lower from $99.85 billion in 2022, Otexa data stated. In 2023, Bangladesh earned $866.08 million in January, $602.71 million in February, $665.20 million in March, $562.12 million in April, $614.69 million in May, $512.61 million in June, $745.80 million in July, $615.89 million in August, $594.43 million in September, $578.48 million in October, $433.56 million in November, and $498.31 million in December. In terms of volume, Bangladesh RMG export to the US in 2023 also plunged by 27.94% to 2.25 billion square metres from 3.13 billion square metres in 2022, Otexa data stated.
According to their data, China and Vietnam occupied the first and the second highest positions respectively in the US market as of December 2023. Among the other major suppliers, US apparel imports from China in 2023 experienced a negative growth of 24.98% to $16.31 billion from $21.75 billion in 2022. China has a market share of 20.96%.
Vietnam exported apparel items worth $14.17 billion in 2023, fetching a decline of 22.29% from $18.24 billion in 2022, claiming a market share of 18.21%, Otexa data stated. Followed by Bangladesh, India secured the fourth position by exporting apparel items worth $4.47 billion in 2023, registering a negative growth of 21.42% from $5.69 billion in 2022. India has a market share of 5.74% in the US.
According to the Otexa data, the US RMG imports from Indonesia decreased by 25.19% to $4.19 billion while the imports from Cambodia fell by 23.58% to $3.32 billion in the same period, which made them the fifth and sixth with a market share of 5.38% and 4.27% respectively.
Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that the global garment industry was extremely unpredictable in 2023 since every country had curtailed imports owing to high inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. He also said that the main garment importer country, the United States, has reduced its consumption due to high inflation in 2023. Bangladesh was not the only country to have negative growth in garment exports to the US market in 2023; other exporting countries had the same experience, he added.
However, he expressed optimism that the market would improve in the next few days and the US inflation and interest rates will remain stable, which might assist the market recover in the coming months
