The country’s exports to the United States of America grew by 10.99 per cent in January following a rise in the number of apparel shipments. The total value of Bangladeshi exports to the US stood at US$ 511.60 million in January. Ready-made garments (RMG) fetched $ 497.66 million of the total figure, growing 11.31 per cent over that of January last year. The total RMG export earnings from the US was $ 5.40 billion in 2015, growing 11.74 per cent from the previous year, according to data from Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), a concern of the US Department of Commerce. The country’s apparel exports to the US had dropped to $ 4.83 billion in 2014, from $ 4.94 billion in 2013. Meanwhile, the RMG exports of Vietnam to the US grew 16.48 per cent, earning $ 926.08 million, in this January over the same month last year. Vietnam is one of the major competitors of Bangladesh in the sector. Chinese apparel exports grew 2.67 per cent to $ 2.41 billion in the same month this year, from $ 2.35 billion in January 2015. India fetched $ 314.85 million, marking 2.69 per cent growth in the same time. Apparel exports to the US by Indonesia and Sri Lanka shrank 4.65 per cent and 9.90 per cent respectively, when the figures of January this year and the last were compared. Prevailing political stability and implementation of safety measures helped regain the buyers’ confidence, resulting in such performance from Bangladesh, said industry insiders. Supply prices of the RMG items did not grow double digits, like the export figures, even though their production costs have increased. The increase in exports was due to rising volume, experts opined.
