RMG exports increased 45pc in European market

Staff Correspondent: The value of the garments made in Bangladesh is all over the world. However, Europe-America is the biggest buyer of the country’s garment industry. In addition, Bangladeshi clothing products are also joining new markets in the world. As a result, the list of buyers is gradually increasing.
The demand for country-made clothes has increased in Europe as well as in America. Garment import from Bangladesh to European Union (EU) countries has increased.
Recently, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Commission, has published the data on Europe’s clothing imports in the period from January to June this year. According to the statistics, the growth of apparel imports from Bangladesh was the highest during the period under discussion by the European Union. During this period (January-June), the import of clothing from Bangladesh to the European market has increased by about 45 percent (44.60 percent) compared to the same period of the previous year. Whereas their global imports increased by 25.03 percent.
Through this, in 6 months, the European Union’s garment import from Bangladesh has reached 11.31 billion dollars.
China is the top apparel import source for European Union countries. Europe’s clothing imports from China increased by 21.78 percent during the discussion period. At this time, $12.22 billion worth of clothing was imported from China.
On the other hand, Turkey is the third largest source of clothing in the European Union. Europe’s clothing imports from Turkey increased by 20.38 percent during the period under discussion. During this period, the EU imported $10.89 billion worth of clothing from Turkey. During this period, imports from Europe’s other top garment import sources – namely Cambodia, Pakistan, Indonesia and India – increased by 24.90 percent, 40.15 percent, 32.28 percent and 28.64 percent respectively.
The Director of Made Garment Owners and Exporters Association (BGMEA) talked about the increase in demand for Bangladeshi clothing in the EU market. With Mohiuddin Rubel. He said that Europe’s retail sales were higher than usual mainly due to the recovery from the corona pandemic and the increase in consumer purchases. However, it remains to be seen how long this upward trend in growth will last for the remainder of 2022 due to a slowdown in inflation and economic growth.
In addition, demand for winter clothing is also currently relatively low in Europe due to unusually long summers. Bangladesh’s total garment exports maintained a significant growth rate till August this year. In continuation of this, imports from Bangladesh to Europe can maintain significant growth till September. However, because of the negative impact on retail sales due to the economic instability, the buyers are in a cautious position for the time being, he said. Mohiuddin Rubel.
On the other hand, America’s official data source ‘Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA)’ has released the latest apparel import figures for January-July this year. According to OTEXA, US apparel imports from Bangladesh increased by 54.43 percent compared to the same period (January-July) of 2021. And their import from the whole world increased by 39.06 percent. During the mentioned period, the United States imported garments worth USD 5.71 billion from Bangladesh.
During January-June this year, the growth rate of import from China was 40 percent. China is the top apparel import source for the US. During the discussed period, the United States imported clothing from China worth 12.79 billion dollars.At the same time, US imports from Vietnam increased by 35.3%, reaching $10.91 billion. Apparel imports to the United States from other top countries such as Indonesia, India, Cambodia, South Korea and Pakistan also increased significantly during the same period.