However, single-month apparel export earnings from the US in November fell 9.82%
RMG exports to the United States saw a year-on-year growth of 42.48% to $9.06 billion in the January-November period of 2022, higher than $6.36 billion in the mentioned period of 2021.
This data was presented in the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa).
With a market share of 9.78%, Bangladesh secured the third position in its single largest export destination.
However, the single-month apparel export earnings from the US in November experienced a fall of 9.82% to $597.61 million from $662.70 million in the same month of 2021.
In 2022, the earnings of November were the lowest in eleven months, Otexa data stated. But the y-o-y growth of Bangladesh is the highest among the top suppliers to the US market.
Bangladesh exported apparel items worth $7.14 billion to the United States in 2021 and exceeded the full-year earnings of 2021 in just nine months (Jan-Sep) of 2022 when the earnings stretched to $7.55 billion.
According to the Otexa data, during the same period, the overall US apparel imports reached $93.39 billion, noting a 25.72% y-o-y rise, up from $74.28 billion in the January-November period of 2021.
This year, Bangladesh earned $755.94 million in January, $688.47 million in February, $1.03 billion in March, $820.52 million in April, $815 million in May, $906 million in June, $693.22 million in July, $928.56 million in August, $912.71 million in September and $910.85 million in October.
Among the other major suppliers, China saw a growth of 14.54% to $20.51 billion in the January-November of 2022 from $17.9 billion during the same period of 2021 and secured a market share of 22.06%.
In the mentioned period, Vietnam exported apparel items worth $17.05 billion, fetching a growth of 29.17% from $13.20 billion in 2021, claiming a market share of 17.94%.
Followed by Bangladesh, India secured the fourth position by exporting apparel items worth $5.32 billion in the January-October period of 2022, registering a growth of 45.04% from $3.81 billion with a market share of 5.65%.
According to the Otexa data, RMG imports of the US from Indonesia in the first eleven months of 2022 increased by 39.83% to $5.27 billion while the imports from Cambodia grew by 3.92% to $4.09 billion in the same period, which made them the fifth and sixth with a market share of 5.61% and 4.33% respectively.
Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said that the US is always a big market for Bangladesh.
“However, the increased price of raw materials and freight charges have also impacted the growth,” he added.
He also said that as things stand now, a sluggish export trend may continue for another two to three months. But a change could come in February.
BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel told Dhaka Tribune that the growth increased due to inflation and price hike of raw materials, increase in unit price and shifting of orders to Bangladesh due to the China-US clash.
In response to the question of why the export income was less in November, he said that the overall import of the US has decreased since October.
“Prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and internal economic crisis have curtailed the purchasing power of US consumers and made them cautious,” he added saying that they fear the growth may be sluggish in the coming months.
However, due to the recent Covid situation in China, more orders from China may shift to Bangladesh, he hoped.
Meanwhile, US apparel imports from major buyers in November experienced a sluggish trend.
As inflation and geopolitical tension looms, the fashion industry of Europe and the West is facing a challenging climate from the second half of 2022 and the slowdown is likely to continue through 2023, said Mckinsey and Company.
