Photo : Messenger
Bangladesh, the world's second-largest clothing exporter, has faced a slowdown in woven item exports during the first half (H1) due to global economic struggles with inflation. However, the country is gaining prominence in the global knitwear market. The higher pricing of formal woven items compared to knit items has impacted exports, particularly as the EU and USA, under inflationary pressures, have witnessed a reduction in consumer spending on clothing.
Manufacturers believe that the demand for woven items has declined due to a continuous decrease in demand since the Covid-19 period. The shift to remote work has led to a reduced need for formal attire. Post-Covid, the global economy is grappling with economic stagflation induced by ongoing war.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), woven exports experienced a 4.12 percent decline, totaling $9.91 billion from January to December in the fiscal year 2024, compared to $10.33 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, it is noteworthy that woven exports in December reached their highest point in the first six months of the fiscal year 2024.
Shahidullah Azim, Vice President of Bnagladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told the Daily Messenger “Knit items are more popular than woven ones, especially amid the global inflationary challenges. Consumer preferences are shifting towards knitwear, contributing to the decline in woven exports. Optimistically, there is hope for a recovery in the situation starting from the new year, with the gradual easing of geopolitical tensions.”
The data reveals that woven items fell short of the revenue target by 14.41 percent. The set target for the mentioned period was $11.57 billion, while the overall target for the current fiscal year stands at $23.84 billion.
EPB data says, in July woven fetched $1.68 billion, which was $1.72 billion in August, $1.43 billion in September, $1.25 billion in October, $1.73 billion in November and $2.07 billion in December of the current fiscal.
During last fiscal year, woven fetched $21.25 billion while knit earned $25.73 billion.
Meanwhile, overall garment export earned $23.39 billion from the global market and grew by 1.72 percent in H1. Of this, knitwear fetched $13.48 billion and woven $9.91 billion.
And in H1 of 2024 FY, home textile export declined by 38.48 percent to $370 million from $601 million in the corresponding period of the last year. In the last fiscal year, export recorded $1.05 billion and target for the current fiscal year was set at $1.23 billion.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), garment export to USA declined by 5.76 percent to $3.27 billion, EU 0.18 percent to $9.05 billion, UK 14.61 percent to $2.25billion, Canada 2.71 percent to $606 million and to the non-traditional market Bangladesh’s apparel grew by 14.12 percent to $3.64 billion in July-November 2024FY.
According to Eurostat, the EU's official statistical office, the export value of Bangladesh's knit wear during the first three quarters of 2023 stood at €8.31 billion while China’s export value stood €8.27billion and raised by 0.49 percent.
Fazle Shamim Ehsan, Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told the Daily Messenger “Bangladesh has won the first place in knitwear exports to the market for the first time this year amid sluggish demand in the EU. The main reason for this is that China no longer produces low-end clothing products. On the other hand, Bangladesh has developed strong backward linkages in this sector.”
He mentioned that Bangladesh is actively venturing into the value-added market to compete on a global scale. Manufacturers have already initiated the establishment of factories dedicated to value-added products, aiming to strengthen Bangladesh's position in the world markets.
Though Bangladesh already has become the largest Denim exporter to USA market dominating 23 percent of the markets, China has grabbed only 14 percent, according to the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) USA.
Based on the monthly export trend, jeans exports were anticipated to reach $1 billion; however, exporters express concerns that they might not achieve this figure in the current fiscal year compared to the earnings in previous fiscal years.
Normally, Bangladesh export cotton-based products like T-shirt, sweater, blouse, underwear and denim.
Total garment export: $23.39b
Growth: 1.72pc
Knit: 6.4pc
Messenger/Fameema
