First of all, I would like to congratulate the young tigers, the Under-19 cricket team of Bangladesh for the historic win of the Under-19 Asia Cup. The tigers won this title remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. The victory came at the final match against United Arab Emirates held at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai on 17 December. The tigers have beaten the host by 195 runs in the finale. This remarkable achievement has sweetened the celebration of our glorious 52nd Victory Day.
We are almost in the end of an eventful year 2023. Despite the difficulties we faced in both local and international arena, the readymade garment industry continues to prove its resilience and commitment toward sustainability. Today, I am writing to share with you a few positive trends set by the industry in recent times.
As I have been sharing with you the updated clothing import data of the European Union (Eurostat) and the United States (Otexa) every month, you may recall that EU’s clothing import in volume (measured in kilogram) from Bangladesh exceeded the import from China for the first time in 2022. And I was always sharing my observation with you over the past few years about the difference between Bangladesh’s and China’s share in EU import being closing in. In 2022, EU’s clothing import from Bangladesh reached 1.33 billion KG, whereas import from China was 1.31 billion KG. Though in terms of value, EU’s clothing import from Bangladesh was US$ 7.3 billion less than the import from China.
However, I am glad to share with you that for the first time in ‘knitwear’ subcategory, EU’s import from Bangladesh has exceeded the share of any other country during January September of 2023, both in dollar value and in weight (kilogram). During the mentioned nine months, EU’s knitwear import from Bangladesh was US$ 9 billion (which was US$ 8.96 billion from China), and in terms of weight EU’s import from Bangladesh was 571 million KGs (which was 442 million from China). As Bangladesh’s position in EU markets continues to be stronger over the years, 2023 sets a significant landmark for the knitwear sector in the EU market. Such a performance reveals our competitive capability over others. Thanks to the EU’s EBA scheme which has been one of the key success factors behind the growth and investment in this sector.
As far as clothing trade is concerned, Bangladesh also tops in EU and USA in few other criteria. We are the global leader in EU for Denim sourcing since 2014 followed by Turkey as the second and Pakistan as the third.
We have also topped the sourcing country list of USA for Denim in 2020 exceeding Mexico. Pakistan remains as the third largest sourcing of Denim for USA. In 2022, the gap in Denim sourcing from Bangladesh and Mexico widened further (USA sourced US$ 944 million worth of Denim from Bangladesh, which was US$ 750 from Mexico).
I have also shared with you that Bangladesh became as the top sourcing destination for the USA for ‘cotton apparel’ during January-June 2023, however as Vietnam’s export to USA rebounded since July, we fell behind Vietnam marginally in this category during January October 2023. The cotton apparel market of USA worth US$ 47.50 billion in 2022, meaning we have secure 14.55% share of it. While we are promoting non-cotton apparel these days, the importance of retaining and enhancing our share in cotton apparel cannot be overstated, especially in selected cotton categories like Denim and ladies’ dresses. I believe by the end of next year, Bangladesh would be able to top the list for cotton apparel category in the US market.
One of the reasons, why Bangladesh is doing exceedingly well in EU for knitwear is the recent investments in higher value-added items, especially active-wear. I believe our industry will be able to make a significant shift in this area of non-cotton-based athleisure items.
I do also believe that we will keep setting landmarks for more product categories in coming years as we see a strategic shift in diverse items in recent years. Most importantly the amount of investment the industry is making toward responsible and sustainable manufacturing, has set an example in the world. Now, through our efforts to pursue technology and innovative excellence, we would certainly be able to break the status quo in the area of innovation and development.
EU Apparel Import
Value in Million US$
Knitwear
| Jan. 2023 | Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 Jul. 2023 | Aug. 2023 | Sep. 2023 | Jan-Sep 2023 | ||
| World | 4304.39 | 3637.63 | 3892.94 | 3045.93 | 3247.45 | 3606.08 | 4319.17 | 4568.85 | 3975.54 | 34597.99 |
| China | 1114.07 | 854.19 | 783.67 | 626.43 | 700.28 | 956.94 | 1288.52 | 1439.89 | 1197.95 | 8961.94 |
| Bangladesh | 1177.07 | 980.77 | 1170.55 | 848.49 | 883.78 | 813.27 | 1124.12 | 1069.49 | 934.96 | 9002.51 |
| Türkiye | 543.83 | 475.74 | 535.18 | 465.60 | 484.08 | 559.88 | 506.79 | 567.08 | 501.76 | 4639.94 |
| India | 228.38 | 227.41 | 207.01 | 167.75 | 166.39 | 181.12 | 192.91 | 201.83 | 145.56 | 1718.37 |
| Cambodia | 175.94 | 162.89 | 173.51 | 121.32 | 116.99 | 140.86 | 195.41 | 241.25 | 196.00 | 1524.16 |
| Viet Nam | 153.37 | 142.91 | 155.08 | 116.94 | 125.78 | 132.59 | 140.85 | 149.38 | 130.46 | 1247.35 |
| Pakistan | 176.11 | 131.56 | 126.84 | 110.07 | 112.49 | 117.53 | 136.77 | 155.49 | 137.83 | 1204.70 |
| Morocco | 64.09 | 55.49 | 72.55 | 66.45 | 74.04 | 74.89 | 61.57 | 64.57 | 66.67 | 600.32 |
| Sri Lanka | 79.23 | 63.43 | 81.38 | 55.17 | 65.44 | 64.89 | 75.94 | 77.77 | 77.77 | 641.02 |
| Indonesia | 41.26 | 32.32 | 34.08 | 27.90 | 26.97 | 29.69 | 37.76 | 42.74 | 34.77 | 307.50 |
Woven
| Jan. 2023 Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 Jul. 2023 Aug. 2023 Sep. 2023 Jan-Sep 2023 | ||||||
| World | 4152.20 | 3745.21 | 4191.21 | 3344.51 | 3409.26 | 3553.77 | 4064.38 | 4107.75 | 3615.68 | 34183.99 |
| China | 1205.56 | 937.74 | 927.98 | 726.06 | 812.88 | 1006.33 | 1359.57 | 1448.34 | 1173.23 | 9597.69 |
| Bangladesh | 755.33 | 719.61 | 891.14 | 632.17 | 549.57 | 470.06 | 643.96 | 611.95 | 547.11 | 5820.89 |
| Türkiye | 414.55 | 390.60 | 455.70 | 397.78 | 395.99 | 419.58 | 364.49 | 377.26 | 348.01 | 3563.95 |
| India | 216.48 | 251.82 | 288.01 | 256.47 | 231.93 | 201.92 | 193.11 | 163.96 | 114.99 | 1918.70 |
| Cambodia | 98.84 | 109.44 | 124.21 | 113.38 | 95.62 | 92.76 | 116.10 | 130.27 | 119.80 | 1000.43 |
| Viet Nam | 226.74 | 194.93 | 211.17 | 148.52 | 160.34 | 186.83 | 210.36 | 228.12 | 231.28 | 1798.28 |
| Pakistan | 177.39 | 155.19 | 161.89 | 134.68 | 128.70 | 134.93 | 136.55 | 147.68 | 125.53 | 1302.56 |
| Morocco | 146.46 | 143.38 | 182.12 | 175.62 | 187.63 | 206.53 | 151.47 | 160.51 | 142.32 | 1496.04 |
| Sri Lanka | 45.39 | 44.22 | 55.84 | 36.65 | 48.16 | 44.41 | 42.35 | 36.36 | 40.41 | 393.80 |
| Indonesia | 64.92 | 62.90 | 75.81 | 58.34 | 51.51 | 42.95 | 50.16 | 53.42 | 49.30 | 509.31 |
Total RMG
| Jan. 2023 | Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 | Jul. 2023 | Aug. 2023 | Sep. 2023 | Jan-Sep 2023 | |
| World | 8456.59 | 7382.84 | 8084.15 | 6390.44 | 6656.72 | 7159.86 | 8383.56 | 8676.60 | 7591.22 | 68781.98 |
| China | 2319.64 | 1791.94 | 1711.65 | 1352.48 | 1513.16 | 1963.27 | 2648.09 | 2888.23 | 2371.18 | 18559.64 |
| Bangladesh | 1932.40 | 1700.38 | 2061.69 | 1480.66 | 1433.35 | 1283.33 | 1768.08 | 1681.44 | 1482.07 | 14823.40 |
| Türkiye | 958.38 | 866.35 | 990.88 | 863.39 | 880.07 | 979.45 | 871.28 | 944.34 | 849.77 | 8203.90 |
| India | 444.86 | 479.23 | 495.03 | 424.21 | 398.32 | 383.05 | 386.02 | 365.79 | 260.56 | 3637.07 |
| Cambodia | 274.78 | 272.33 | 297.72 | 234.70 | 212.61 | 233.61 | 311.51 | 371.52 | 315.80 | 2524.59 |
| Viet Nam | 380.11 | 337.84 | 366.25 | 265.45 | 286.12 | 319.42 | 351.21 | 377.50 | 361.74 | 3045.63 |
| Pakistan | 353.50 | 286.75 | 288.74 | 244.75 | 241.20 | 252.46 | 273.32 | 303.18 | 263.36 | 2507.25 |
| Morocco | 210.54 | 198.87 | 254.67 | 242.07 | 261.67 | 281.42 | 213.04 | 225.08 | 208.99 | 2096.35 |
| Sri Lanka | 124.62 | 107.65 | 137.23 | 91.82 | 113.60 | 109.31 | 118.30 | 114.13 | 118.18 | 1034.82 |
| Indonesia | 106.18 | 95.23 | 109.89 | 86.24 | 78.48 | 72.64 | 87.92 | 96.16 | 84.07 | 816.80 |
Source: eurostat
EU Apparel Import
Quantity in Million KG
Knitwear
| Jan. 2023 | Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 Jul. 2023 | Aug. 2023 | Sep. 2023 | Jan-Sep 2023 | ||
| World | 196.48 | 169.73 | 181.23 | 137.99 | 153.62 | 166.21 | 215.10 | 245.37 | 216.41 | 1682.15 |
| China | 48.87 | 39.24 | 34.71 | 27.76 | 33.03 | 45.39 | 64.50 | 80.81 | 67.99 | 442.32 |
| Bangladesh | 68.95 | 59.54 | 71.80 | 50.95 | 57.80 | 50.82 | 74.05 | 72.86 | 63.75 | 570.51 |
| Türkiye | 20.06 | 17.55 | 20.08 | 16.87 | 17.87 | 20.03 | 18.20 | 21.96 | 21.33 | 173.94 |
| India | 9.91 | 10.11 | 9.61 | 7.65 | 8.26 | 9.12 | 9.75 | 11.42 | 8.46 | 84.30 |
| Cambodia | 7.40 | 6.91 | 7.33 | 5.02 | 5.01 | 6.64 | 8.63 | 13.00 | 10.10 | 70.04 |
| Viet Nam | 5.31 | 5.03 | 4.93 | 4.03 | 4.33 | 4.65 | 5.44 | 6.46 | 5.40 | 45.58 |
| Pakistan | 12.76 | 9.87 | 9.28 | 7.56 | 7.92 | 8.17 | 10.15 | 12.61 | 11.61 | 89.92 |
| Morocco | 2.64 | 2.26 | 2.96 | 2.62 | 2.75 | 2.96 | 2.35 | 2.46 | 2.83 | 23.84 |
| Sri Lanka | 2.77 | 2.23 | 2.78 | 1.89 | 2.14 | 2.08 | 2.60 | 2.86 | 2.82 | 22.18 |
| Indonesia | 1.50 | 1.25 | 1.34 | 1.05 | 1.09 | 1.25 | 1.84 | 2.16 | 1.64 | 13.11 |
Woven
| Jan. 2023 Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 Jul. 2023 Aug. 2023 Sep. 2023 Jan-Sep 2023 | ||||||
| World | 143.84 | 130.36 | 145.21 | 115.25 | 119.74 | 124.57 | 151.92 | 166.57 | 149.54 | 1247.01 |
| China | 40.39 | 33.26 | 31.56 | 25.94 | 31.44 | 39.96 | 54.86 | 65.27 | 53.38 | 376.05 |
| Bangladesh | 36.65 | 34.55 | 42.12 | 29.92 | 27.79 | 23.70 | 34.40 | 34.36 | 30.13 | 293.63 |
| Türkiye | 12.26 | 11.15 | 13.10 | 11.28 | 11.44 | 12.05 | 9.85 | 11.20 | 11.41 | 103.74 |
| India | 7.06 | 7.78 | 9.35 | 8.34 | 7.99 | 6.57 | 6.19 | 5.73 | 4.11 | 63.10 |
| Cambodia | 4.32 | 4.60 | 4.94 | 4.90 | 4.27 | 4.14 | 5.19 | 6.50 | 5.95 | 44.80 |
| Viet Nam | 6.00 | 5.33 | 5.68 | 4.33 | 4.58 | 5.33 | 5.94 | 6.78 | 6.73 | 50.68 |
| Pakistan | 10.47 | 9.06 | 9.65 | 8.14 | 8.10 | 8.55 | 9.09 | 9.98 | 8.65 | 81.70 |
| Morocco | 4.05 | 3.70 | 4.97 | 4.53 | 4.86 | 5.45 | 3.75 | 4.06 | 3.91 | 39.26 |
| Sri Lanka | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.61 | 1.03 | 1.35 | 1.17 | 1.16 | 1.03 | 1.10 | 11.05 |
| Indonesia | 1.47 | 1.54 | 1.95 | 1.45 | 1.34 | 1.08 | 1.28 | 1.34 | 1.16 | 12.62 |
Total RMG
| Jan. 2023 | Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May. 2023 | Jun. 2023 | Jul. 2023 | Aug. 2023 | Sep. 2023 | Jan-Sep 2023 | |
| World | 340.32 | 300.09 | 326.44 | 253.24 | 273.36 | 290.78 | 367.02 | 411.95 | 365.96 | 2929.16 |
| China | 89.26 | 72.50 | 66.27 | 53.70 | 64.47 | 85.35 | 119.36 | 146.08 | 121.37 | 818.36 |
| Bangladesh | 105.60 | 94.09 | 113.92 | 80.87 | 85.60 | 74.52 | 108.45 | 107.21 | 93.88 | 864.14 |
| Türkiye | 32.32 | 28.70 | 33.17 | 28.15 | 29.30 | 32.08 | 28.04 | 33.16 | 32.75 | 277.68 |
| India | 16.97 | 17.89 | 18.96 | 15.99 | 16.24 | 15.69 | 15.94 | 17.15 | 12.57 | 147.40 |
| Cambodia | 11.72 | 11.51 | 12.27 | 9.92 | 9.28 | 10.77 | 13.83 | 19.50 | 16.05 | 114.84 |
| Viet Nam | 11.31 | 10.36 | 10.60 | 8.35 | 8.91 | 9.97 | 11.38 | 13.24 | 12.13 | 96.26 |
| Pakistan | 23.23 | 18.93 | 18.93 | 15.71 | 16.03 | 16.71 | 19.23 | 22.59 | 20.26 | 171.62 |
| Morocco | 6.68 | 5.96 | 7.94 | 7.15 | 7.61 | 8.40 | 6.10 | 6.52 | 6.74 | 63.10 |
| Sri Lanka | 4.07 | 3.54 | 4.39 | 2.92 | 3.49 | 3.25 | 3.77 | 3.88 | 3.91 | 33.23 |
| Indonesia | 2.97 | 2.79 | 3.29 | 2.51 | 2.43 | 2.33 | 3.11 | 3.50 | 2.80 | 25.73 |
Source: eurostat
EU Apparel Import
Value in Million US$
| Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| World | 75450.07 77852.23 85593.67 78854.52 79890.19 83494.16 90539.58 89455.44 78641.53 85230.49 103099.55 | ||||||||||
| China | 30049.11 29532.07 31513.05 27871.79 25897.88 26034.47 27301.30 25866.76 23603.12 25764.97 | 30148.46 | |||||||||
| Bangladesh | 9538.03 | 10904.94 | 12446.11 | 12809.96 | 13932.50 | 14595.59 | 16440.18 | 16748.05 | 14181.89 | 16871.13 | 22891.78 |
| Turkey | 9312.27 | 9733.76 | 10103.22 | 8646.80 | 8852.61 | 9232.15 | 9927.42 | 9858.30 | 9302.95 | 10884.74 | 11982.64 |
| India | 4079.86 | 4242.73 | 4745.04 | 4335.72 | 4412.64 | 4465.28 | 4601.64 | 4388.08 | 3390.18 | 4019.61 | 4864.49 |
| Viet Nam | 1876.28 | 1994.18 | 2485.32 | 2575.01 | 2742.23 | 2957.03 | 3332.77 | 3490.39 | 3160.92 | 3379.50 | 4571.92 |
| Pakistan | 1262.56 | 1392.75 | 1844.29 | 1953.98 | 2143.06 | 2416.16 | 2550.46 | 2725.83 | 2450.86 | 3080.47 | 3942.57 |
| Cambodia | 1381.43 | 1686.74 | 2200.06 | 2499.70 | 2997.98 | 3365.02 | 3832.21 | 3680.39 | 2802.66 | 2813.66 | 3809.48 |
| Morocco | 2570.09 | 2570.59 | 2830.83 | 2361.49 | 2615.52 | 2830.95 | 3057.89 | 2950.30 | 2315.65 | 2925.57 | 3122.49 |
| Sri Lanka | 948.62 | 903.72 | 1107.24 | 1008.15 | 971.57 | 1091.86 | 1252.21 | 1349.58 | 1188.05 | 1408.20 | 1617.55 |
| Indonesia | 1380.91 | 1316.29 | 1389.55 | 1290.09 | 1305.72 | 1259.91 | 1268.67 | 1276.18 | 1043.22 | 1095.09 | 1363.02 |
Quantity in Million KG
| Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| World | 3367.41 | 3572.42 | 3889.86 | 3736.37 | 4123.47 | 4038.49 | 4379.05 | 4407.91 | 3723.77 | 3915.80 | 4586.40 |
| China | 1485.87 | 1483.93 | 1544.19 | 1302.95 | 1255.81 | 1322.66 | 1460.99 | 1366.38 | 1130.71 | 1167.02 | 1305.46 |
| Bangladesh | 602.14 | 740.32 | 801.03 | 841.11 | 933.15 | 960.33 | 1089.14 | 1090.44 | 935.45 | 1093.77 | 1325.68 |
| Turkey | 324.32 | 335.76 | 345.14 | 345.89 | 356.36 | 360.31 | 382.81 | 395.11 | 375.57 | 442.03 | 471.88 |
| India | 147.70 | 163.11 | 188.86 | 191.16 | 204.31 | 206.30 | 204.77 | 200.24 | 155.32 | 179.31 | 209.03 |
| Viet Nam | 80.34 | 82.68 | 99.30 | 98.47 | 103.49 | 112.32 | 131.02 | 122.84 | 113.88 | 113.07 | 148.62 |
| Pakistan | 84.34 | 96.52 | 121.80 | 134.72 | 151.01 | 169.94 | 182.08 | 201.55 | 184.40 | 222.57 | 272.41 |
| Cambodia | 67.06 | 89.26 | 111.42 | 131.63 | 157.45 | 178.77 | 200.19 | 186.60 | 137.94 | 135.72 | 171.72 |
| Morocco | 85.01 | 81.96 | 85.61 | 88.49 | 93.65 | 101.63 | 106.01 | 106.34 | 82.52 | 98.01 | 105.18 |
| Sri Lanka | 33.55 | 33.29 | 41.64 | 41.29 | 36.55 | 40.55 | 44.90 | 48.79 | 43.99 | 48.83 | 56.68 |
| Indonesia | 55.32 | 54.23 | 55.34 | 56.67 | 54.72 | 51.48 | 51.25 | 49.36 | 39.22 | 39.80 | 45.61 |
