The second-largest exporter of readymade garment (RMG) products globally, Bangladesh is still behind countries like India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Indonesia, and Morocco in terms of price competitiveness, all of which command relatively higher prices for their products.
This analysis of the US and European Union (EU) markets has unveiled this particular scenario even if as of 2022, China maintained its status as the leading exporter of RMG products, boasting exports worth US $ 182 billion, with Bangladesh following suit at US $ 45.71 bn in exports.
However, disparities emerged between these two pivotal markets in terms of product pricing. According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, the mean price of clothing exported to the EU during 2022 stood at US $ 22.48 per kilogram (kg).
In contrast, Bangladesh exported RMG products to this market at an average of US $ 17.27 per kg. Meanwhile, India and Sri Lanka commanded prices of US $ 23.27 and US $ 28.54 per kg, respectively, while Pakistan’s exports were priced at US $ 14.47 per kg.
Similarly, the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) furnished a comparable pricing breakdown. The average cost of imported clothing from diverse nations hovered around US $ 3.21 per square meter even as Bangladesh’s RMG exports entered the market at US $ 3.10 per square meter, while India and Sri Lanka managed prices of US $ 3.80 and US $ 4.26 per square meter, respectively.
