Bangladesh expects to get boost in export of readymade garment as apparel shipment from China started falling gradually due to ongoing slowdown in the world’s second largest economy, traders said. Bangladesh still exports much more readymade garments compared to India, which has been enjoying higher RMG export growth than Bangladesh over the last two years, the said. Bangladesh, the world’s second biggest RMG exporter, exported RMG products worth $24.58 billion in 2014, when India shipped the item worth only $16.53 billion. However the traders Vietnam being a member of the newly Trans Pacific Partnership deal led by the United States, might get trade privileges over Bangladesh. At present Bangladesh’s share of global exports is more than 6 per cent the export, after China which enjoys some 33 per cent share of the global exports. India’s current export share is around 3.5 per cent globally and Vietnam has already surpassed India in global share by enhancing exports to 3.6 per cent. China accounted for around 33 per cent of the market share, and Bangladesh accounted for 6 per cent market share. According to the McKinsey Apparel Survey 2013, while China was seen to remain the largest sourcing market, Bangladesh was voted as the number one alternative to China, followed by Vietnam. The survey further said, companies were looking toward Sub-Saharan Africa and new Asian locations such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and even Myanmar as upcoming hubs of apparel sourcing. If China falls out of their favour, factors like zero import duty and average cost of labour might make brands opt for Bangladesh instead of India.
