Country’s export earnings from the US market achieved a double-digit growth of over 11 per cent in the January-November period of last year thanks to the first-rate performance of the readymade garment sector in recent months. The earnings from the US in the January-November period of 2015 grew by 11.66 per cent to $5.19 billion compared with that of $4.64 billion in the same period of 2014, according to the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparels under the US commerce department on Saturday. Bangladesh’s earnings from RMG products exports to the US in the 11 months increased by 11.41 per cent to $5.00 billion from $4.48 billion in the same period of the previous year. The Export Promotion Bureau data also showed that the RMG export earnings from the US market in the first half (July-December) of the financial year 2015-16 grew by 15.17 per cent to $2.81 billion from $2.44 billion in the same period of the FY 2014-15. Experts and exporters attributed the double-digit export earnings growth in the US market to good competitiveness and improvement in the factory compliance on the part of the exporters. ‘Despite having challenges Bangladesh is doing good in the US market due to its good competitiveness and significant improvement in factory compliance in last two years,’ Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur told New Age on Saturday. He said that the growing demand in the US market was also one of the reasons for the increasing import from Bangladesh. ‘On the other hand, the safety inspection being conducted by the global buyers’ groups, Accord and Alliance, gave the US buyers confidence to come to Bangladesh,’ Mansur said. Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said shaking off the negative impact of Rana Plaza building collapse and political turmoil Bangladesh started to gain its space in the US market riding on the commitment and efficiency of the entrepreneurs. Moreover, the ongoing factory inspection by Accord and Alliance is encouraging the US buyers to come to Bangladesh, he said. According to the US data, apparel exports of Vietnam to the US in the first 11 months of 2015 grew by 14.05 per cent to $9.79 billion from $8.59 billion in the same period of 2014. Apparel exports of China to the US market in the January-November period of last year grew by 2.34 per cent to $28.40 billion from $ 27.75 billion in the same period of the previous year. According to the US data, India’s apparel exports to the US market in the January-November period of last year grew by 7.74 per cent to $3.41 billion from $3.16 billion in the same period of the previous year.
