Bangladesh’s apparel exports to some emerging and traditional markets declined during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 over that of the corresponding period of the last fiscal, due to sluggish demand worldwide. Garment exports fell by 12.30 per cent to Australia, 56.11 per cent to Brazil, 2.04 per cent to India, 23.31 per cent to Mexico, 24.46 per cent to South Africa and 10.63 per cent to Turkey during July-September of the current fiscal year compared to that of the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to official data. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA are traditional and major destinations for the locally-made apparels. Exports witnessed a negative trend during the period except for France, Germany and Spain. Exporters and observers attributed the decline in apparel exports to the sluggish demand worldwide while the formers considered long Eid vacation as one of the reasons for the downtrend. Regarding the emerging markets, they blamed high duty there and continuation in effective efforts to explore the full potentials in the markets. Mohammad Hatem, former vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said the fall in apparel exports to Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and South Africa is mainly due to high duty levied in those countries. Turkey being an apparel producing country took measures to protect its local manufacturers. “There have not been any sustainable efforts, either from the government or from the businesses, for exploring the non-traditional markets, especially China, South Korea and Japan,” said Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd. Mistrust among the local makers about the Indian buyers after the Liliput incident and non-tariff barriers are among the main obstacles to exporting apparels to India, an exporter said. The country’s apparel exports to Canada dropped by 11.53 per cent to $225.82 million during the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to that of the corresponding period of the fiscal 2015-16, according to official data. The country fetched $255.24 million in the same period of FY 2015-16. Apparel exports to Italy stood at $277.40 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal which was $282.65 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Exports declined by 2.24 per cent to $780.53 million to the UK during the period which was $ 798.38 million in July-September of 2015-16. Merchandise shipment fell by 12.05 per cent to $1.26 billion against $1.43 billion to the USA during the same period. Mahmud Hasan Khan, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said suspension of shipments during long holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr in July and Eid-ul-Azha in September resulted in negative export growth in some big markets. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, said a downturn in the US demand for apparels might have slowed down the country’s import not only from Bangladesh but also from other countries. The policy analyst, however, said Bangladesh is still in a good position in the context of overall US import situation. Sluggish demand also prevailed in Canada, he opined. Regarding the UK, he said that Brexit might be one of the issues for the negative export growth in the market.
