RMG exports to US drop by 23.33% in Q3
RMG exports to the US showed negative growth in seven months except January and July this year.
Apparel exports to the United States declined by 23.33% year-on-year to $5.78 billion in the first three quarters (January-September) of 2023, as slow demand for apparel products continued due to high inflation in the US.
The exports to US stood at $7.54 billion during the same period of 2022.
In September 2023, the country's apparel extorts to the US fell by 34.71% to $594.76 million year-on-year compared with those of $911.07 million in the same month of 2022, according to the US Department of Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel data released on Tuesday (7 November).
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Bangladesh's RMG exports to the US showed negative growth in seven months except January and July this year.
Exporters said total US imports fell due to the economic slowdown caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine and that the situation could improve by the middle of next year.
OTEXA data showed that total US imports of ready-made garments from various countries fell by 22.81% to $60.82 billion in the nine months of 2023, compared to $78.80 billion in the same period of 2022.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association BGMEA Vice-President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury said high inflation is the only reason cause of declining exports to the US market.
He hoped this market situation may improve by the middle of next year.
Earlier, the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) Research Director Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque told that two major markets of Bangladesh apparels are in decline.
"The US market is not doing well and the German economy is also in a slowdown, which is reducing apparel demand in those countries."
The ongoing political uncertainty and workers' unrest are also likely to disrupt their supply chain, the economist added.
"If the situation does not improve, there will be another major supply chain disruption, which will be reflected in November export earnings," feared Dr Razzaque.
However, Bangladesh's position remained unchanged as the third-largest apparel exporter in the US market with 9.73% share in January-September of 2023 while China and Vietnam occupied the first and the second highest positions with 20.47% and 17.98% share respectively.
The import of apparel by the US from China in January-September of 2023 fell by 28.12% to $ 12.75 billion compared with that of $17.74 billion in the same period of 2022.
RMG imports by the US from Vietnam in the nine months of 2023 decreased by 24.13% to $11.06 billion compared with those of $14.59 billion in same period of the past year.
The OTEXA data showed that India's RMG exports to the US market in January-September of 2023 fell by 21.91% to $3.62 billion compared with those of $4.64 billion in the same period of the previous year.
RMG imports by the US from Indonesia in the first nine months of 2023 decreased by 25.60% to $3.30 billion while the imports from Cambodia fell by 26.09$ to $2.59 billion in the period, the data showed.
