Global export demand remained bearish during second half of 2022 due to Russia-Ukraine war and high inflation in the developed world. But Japan’s apparel imports from Bangladesh defied the trend. The import increased by 15.02 percent to $1,340.256 mn last year over the previous year. The upward trend remained intact in the first quarter of the current year also.
Japan’s inbound shipment of apparel from Bangladesh increased from $1,165.457 mn in 2021 to $1,340.256 mn in 2022, according to market report. The import grew to $1,167.965 mn in 2019 against $1,122.539 mn in 2018. But it eased down to $1,033.232 mn in 2020 due to COVID-19.
On a quarterly basis, the import increased to $363.939 mn in Q1,2023 against the shipment of $333.741 mn in Q4, 2022 and $354.094 mn in Q1, 2022. The trade remained volatile as it eased down to $295.432 mn in Q2, 2022 but rose to $358.277 mn in Q3, 2022. It further slipped to $333.741 mn in Q4, 2022, as per market report.
The import of fabric from Bangladesh also increased to $1,733.501 mn in 2022 from $1,108.184 mn in 2021. Earlier, it was noted at $1,689.953 mn in 2020, $1,843.536 mn in 2019 and $2,841.596 mn in 2018.
As per report Bangladesh was the third largest apparel supplier for Japan. But its share was just 5.37 percent in Japan’s total apparel import worth $24.953 bn during 2022. China was the top supplier with 55.32 percent share, followed by Vietnam with a share of 15.85 percent of the total inbound shipment.
