Garment exports to non-traditional markets increased 3.4 percent year-on-year to $2.08 billion in July-December of the current fiscal year, according to data from Export Promotion Bureau.Except for the European Union, the US and Canada, Bangladesh considers all other countries as non-traditional markets.The government began giving cash incentives on garment exports to emerging markets to offset the fallout from financial meltdown that the world faced in 2007 and 2009. These cash incentives on export to non-traditional markets drove growth over the years.The government gave 5 percent cash incentive to apparel exporters in 2009-10, 4 percent in 2010-11 and 2 percent in 2011-12. They are still receiving 2 percent cash incentive for export to new destinations.Subsequently, exports to India, China, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand started to rise.In 2008, garment exports to non-traditional markets stood at $800 million; in 2015-16, the figure crossed $3.90 billion.“We have huge potential in the non-traditional markets. We need aggressive marketing to export more to the emerging markets,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.However, the export growth to non-traditional markets slowed down in recent months, as overall garment exports also declined, he added.Japan, Russia, Australia and China could be the most promising markets for Bangladeshi garments, he said.In July-Dec of 2015-16, garment export growth was recorded at more than 10 percent, but it declined to 2.82 percent at the same time this year.Of the non-traditional markets, Bangladesh’s garment export to Japan registered the highest growth in the July-December period, according to data from the EPB.Apparel export to Japan, the largest export destination for Bangladesh in Asia, rose 6.55 percent to $367.22 million in July-December of the current fiscal year from the same time last year.Japan is the only destination in Asia where Bangladesh’s overall export crossed the $1-billion mark last fiscal year. Exporters said apparel shipment to Japan might cross the $1-billion mark at the end of this fiscal year for the relaxation of the Rules of Origin (RoO), Japan’s adoption of the ‘China plus one’ policy and quality products at competitive prices.The RoO is the criteria that are used to define where a product was made. The origin of a product is important because it will determine how it is treated at the border of an importing country and the origin may impact the import duty payable and admissibility into the country.The Japanese government relaxed the RoO for garment products for the least developed countries (LDCs) for both woven and knitwear products.Japan imports apparel products worth over $40 billion a year, more than 80 percent of which are from China. So, the Japanese government has started reducing the country’s dependence on China.“We are receiving a lot of queries from the Japanese clothing retailers. We have bright prospects in Japan,” said Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan, general secretary of Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
