Apparel export to EU rises by 2% in 11 months: EPB
The EPB data shows that apparel shipments to Spain, France, Netherlands, Poland and Denmark grew by 6.23%, 1.02%, 16.27%, 17.28% and 26.96% respectively.
The country's apparel export to the European Union (EU) rose by 2% year-on-year to $21.64 billion in the July-May period of the current fiscal year 2023-24, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) compiled by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
However, the country's readymade garment (RMG) exports to the EU from January to April 2024 decreased by 9.85%, totalling 6.01 billion euros compared to 6.67 billion euros in the same period of 2023, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.
According to the BGMEA compiled EPB data, apparel shipments to Spain, France, Netherlands, Poland and Denmark grew by 6.23%, 1.02%, 16.27%, 17.28% and 26.96% respectively.
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On the other hand, garment exports to Germany, the largest EU market for Bangladesh, declined by 10.12% year-on-year,
Apparel exports to Italy also declined by 6.1% in the first 11 months of this fiscal.
Meanwhile, apparel exports to the US hit $7.46 billion in the period - a 3.43% fall from the same period last fiscal year.
Exports to the UK, in the meantime, grew by 12.34% year-on-year to $5.15 billion and to Canada it declined by 0.31% to $1.3 billion.
However, garment exports to non-traditional markets grew by 6.47% year-on-year to $8.18 billion.
Among the major non-traditional markets, shipments to Japan, Australia and South Korea posted respectively 1.83%, 11.76% and 14.34% growth.
Apparel exports to India, however, decreased by 23.11%.
According to Eurostat data, the decline in Bangladesh's knitwear exports to the EU was notable, dropping from 3.88 billion euros in Jan-Apr 2023 to 3.38 billion euros in the same period of 2024.
Similarly, woven garment exports fell from 2.79 billion euros to 2.64 billion euros during the respective periods.
Eurostat data indicated a 6.28% decrease in the EU's total clothing imports from various countries, amounting to 26.41 billion euros in Jan-Apr 2024 compared to 28.19 billion euros in Jan-Apr 2023.
