Welcome to Business Outlook
Related Articles
According to recent data given by the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa), garment exports to the United States increased by 15.43% year on year to $867.64 million in January, the first month of 2023, up from $751.67 million in the same month in 2022.
Bangladesh ranked third in its single largest export destination behind China and Vietnam in January 2023, with a market share of 8.84%.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, finished the previous year (2022) with a market share of 9.78%.
According to Otexa data, total US apparel imports reached $7.26 billion in January 2023, representing a 3.44% year-on-year decrease from $7.52 billion in January 2022.
Major competitors of Bangladesh like China, Vietnam and Cambodia experienced a negative growth in exporting apparel items to the US while others saw a narrow growth.
Among the other major suppliers, China saw a negative growth of 24.61% to $1.44 billion in January 2023, lower from $1.91 billion in the same period of 2022, securing a market share of 24.2%.
In the mentioned period, Vietnam exported apparel items worth $1.26 billion, but couldn’t avoid a narrow negative growth of 0.50% from $1.27 billion in January 2022, claiming a market share of 17.44%.
Followed by Bangladesh, India secured the fourth position by exporting apparel items worth $484.98 million in January of 2023, registering a growth of 9.77% from $441.8 billion with a market share of 5.2%.
According to Otexa data, RMG imports of the US from Indonesia climbed by 4.73% to $453.83 million in the first month of 2023, while imports from Cambodia decreased by 12.92% to $282.75 million in the same period, placing them fifth and sixth with market shares of 5.15% and 4.17%, respectively.
As per various projections, amid consumers’ financial concerns and economic uncertainties, the sales of clothing were expected to decline in the US.
According to a recent report published by the McKinsey and Company, the fashion industry is again facing a challenging climate and expected that the slowdown is likely to continue through 2023.
The global economic gloom is increasingly reflected in consumers’ shopping habits and the fashion industry is facing a weakened demand meaning going through an unpredictable year ahead.
The report also foreseen that the consumers have been affected by different potential economic turbulence which is forcing them to postpone or curtail discretionary purchases; or to seek out bargains, resale, rental and off-price products.
However, BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel told Dhaka Tribune that they were concerned about the US market, saying that growth in the US market may be negative in January but has since turned positive, demonstrating Bangladesh’s strength.
“It also shows how solid our position will be if the global economy fully recovers from the effects of Covid-19 and the war. US buyers and consumers place us ahead of other competitors as a sourcing country and we believe our position will be strengthened more in the future,” he added.
In 2022, Bangladesh bagged $9.74 billion from the US market, fetching a YoY growth of 36.38%, higher than $7.14 billion of 2021.
(DT)
