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Bangladesh’s apparel export to the European Union (EU) rose by 44.6% to $11.31 billion during the first six months or first half (H1) of 2022, according to the latest import statistics revealed by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat and compiled by the BGMEA.
In the same period last year, Bangladeshi manufacturers shipped apparel items worth $7.82 billion to the EU countries, said the Eurostat data.
Moreover, the EU’s global apparel imports grew to $47.75 billion in the January to June period of 2022, attaining a growth of 25.03% from $38.19 billion in the same period of the last year.
However, the manufacturers in the country said that Eurostat usually has a gap of three months in publishing data. So, since June, the global situation has changed notably due to economic turmoil, inflationary pressures, and prolonged summer which led to a decline in orders which may cause negative growth in the coming months.
According to the Eurostat data, China, the top apparel exporter to the EU, registered a growth of 21.78% YoY to $12.22 billion in the mentioned period, higher than $12.22 billion in the same period of the last year.
Followed by Bangladesh, Turkey is the third largest apparel exporter to the EU and also posted a YoY growth of 20.38%.
In the January to June period of 2022, the EU imported apparel items worth $6.14 billion from Turkey, higher than $5.07 billion in H1 of last year.
Being fourth, India registered a growth of 24.9% to $2.75 billion, from $2.2 billion in the same period of 2021, Eurostat data said.
Vietnam secured the fifth position by exporting apparel items worth $1.94 billion in the first six months of 2022, fetching a YoY growth of 23.49% from $1.57 of the same period of the last year.
Among other notable global apparel manufacturers, Pakistan fetched a YoY growth of 32.28% to $1.84 billion, Cambodia of 40.15% to $1.67 billion, and Morocco of 20.9% to $1.64 billion in the January to July period of the current calendar year (2022), Eurostat data showed.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Mohiuddin Rubel, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that the surge in EU’s imports is caused mainly by the recovery from the pandemic and increased shopping by consumers resulted in retail sales growth.
“However, the upward trend might not sustain in the following months of 2022 due to inflation at a historic level, especially the price hike of fuel and food, and the downturn in economic growth than projections indicating a recession,” he added.
He also said that the unusually long summer may also affect the winter clothing range.
“However, we observed that Bangladesh’s total export maintained significant growth until August 2022, which means EU’s imports from Bangladesh might keep on a positive trend till September,” he added.
He also expressed fear that the growth momentum may falter afterwards as retail sales are already affected by economic turmoil and buyers are cautious about overstock and current production.
However, manufacturers fear that the apparel export will likely witness a negative growth from September earnings after a positive streak of 14 months since August last year.
According to the day-to-day export data of EPB, apparel export declined to $1.72 billion in the first 18 days of September, fetching a negative growth of 12.36%, from the same period of the last fiscal year 2021-22.
In the first 18 days of September of FY22, apparel manufacturers had earned $1.97 billion.
Meanwhile, according to the joint findings by Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh, local apparel exports to the EU markets may face double-edged challenges after the country’s LDC graduation which will be a loss of duty benefits and the likely introduction of carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).
(DT)
