Economic Reporter :
Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) exports to the United States, which happens to be its single largest destination for apparel goods, stood at $6.36 billion during the first eleven months, January to November, of last year.
The receipts were $1.49 billion, or 30.68% higher compared to $4.86 billion in the same period of 2020, according to Otexa, an affiliate of the US Department of Commerce.
High demand for the locally produced RMG, especially knit items, and significant rise in prices of raw materials helped exports to grow both in terms of volume and value, according to industry insiders.
During the period, Bangladesh shipped 2.33 billion square metres of apparel items, up by 34.37% from 1.73 billion square metres in the same period of 2020.
Bangladesh’s main competitors, China and Vietnam, also witnessed 27.29% and 12.73% growth respectively.
During January to November of 2021, the US imported apparels worth $17.90 billion from China and $13.20 billion from Vietnam.
Cambodia and Indonesia’s exports to the US saw 19.86% and 14.11% growth respectively, according to the Otexa data.
US buyers, who were very conservative in purchasing apparel items due to the pandemic, have increased orders to cater for their growing demands while many of them have shifted from China and Vietnam due to the trade tension and Covid-led factory closure respectively, exporters observed.
Overall apparel imports by the US from across the world during the first eleven months of 2021 also increased by 25.43% to $74.28 billion from $59.23 billion during the same period of 2020, data showed.
