Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the United States grew by 44.38 per cent or $444 million in January-February on the back of increased prices and demand for readymade garment products in the market. The country’s RMG exports to the US in the first two months of 2022 increased to $1.44 billion compared to $1 billion in the same period of 2021, according to the US department of commerce’s office of textiles and apparel. Exporters said that the successful rebound of the US economy from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic had created additional demand for apparel products. Moreover, the increased import orders of knitwear products from the US to Bangladesh also contributed to growth, they said. According to the Otexa data, the value of apparel products in January-February increased more than the volume in the world market. In terms of volume, the apparel export to the US from Bangladesh in the first two months of this year grew by 35.11 per cent to 530 million square metres from 392 million square metres in the same period of 2021, the data showed. ‘Apparel export earnings from the US market has been increasing as both the unit price and volume of consignment increased in the market,’ Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Md Shahidullah Azim told New Age.
He said that the US market showed a strong rebound and created additional demand for RMG products overcoming the shock of the pandemic. The Otexa data showed that the total US imports of RMG from the world in January-February this year increased by 37.64 per cent to $15.02 billion in value while the import increased by 24.69 per cent to 5.24 billion square metres in volume during the period. The US apparel import from China in the first two months of 2022 grew by 46.64 per cent to $3.59 billion from $2.45 billion in the same period of 2021. RMG imports by the US from Vietnam in January-February 2022 increased by 26.22 per cent to $2.64 billion from $2.09 billion in the same period of 2021. India’s RMG exports to the US market in the first two months of 2022 grew by 47.52 per cent to $876 million from $594 million in the same period of the previous year. RMG imports by the US from Indonesia in January-February 2022 increased by 55.97 per cent to $862 million from $553 million in the same period of the past year. Apparel imports by The US from Cambodia in the first two months of this year grew by 48.57 per cent to $669 million from $451 million in the same period of 2021, the data showed.