Country’s readymade garments export to the US market in the first two months of this year grew by 8.46 per cent to $982.70 million from $906.05 million in the same period of last year while Vietnam registered a whopping 23-per cent growth in the RMG export to the market. Export of Vietnam to the US market grew by 22.73 per cent to $1.98 billion in the two months while the RMG export fetched $1.87 billion with 23 per cent growth. Bangladesh’s RMG export to the US totalled $5.40 billion in 2015 with an 11.74-per cent growth from the previous year. Earnings in January were $497.66 million with an 11.31-per cent growth while the earnings in February posted a single-digit growth.According to the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparels under the US commerce department, country’s exports to the US market in the first two months of this year grew by 8.52 per cent to $1.01 billion from $935.10 million in the same period of last year. Data showed that Bangladesh’s export earnings from the US declined slightly in February compared with that in the previous month. The total value of exports to the US stood at $511.60 million in January while the RMG product export accounted for $497.66 million in the month. In February, county’s total export to the US market amounted to $503.22 million and the RMG fetched $485.04 million.‘Month-to-month export earnings growth can vary but the growth of Vietnam to the US market is a matter of concern for Bangladesh,’ Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, told New Age on Thursday. He said if Vietnam gets zero tariff facility to the market under the Trans-Pacific Partnership it would be severe challenge for Bangladesh. ‘Vietnam is gaining more space in the US market due to its high productivity and Bangladesh would have to increase its productivity and skills to remain competitiveness in the market,’ Mustafiz said. He said that Vietnam might grab market share of its competing countries under the duty facility in the US market and Bangladesh should have to go for upgradation and product diversification to avail the quota-free duty-free market access as per the WTO rules. Apparel exports of China to the US market in the first two months of this year grew by 8.92 per cent to $4.78 billion from $4.39 billion in the same period of last year.According to the US data, India’s apparel export to the US market in the first two months of 2016 grew by 9.49 per cent to $699.13 million from $638.54 million in the same period of last year.
