The export of readymade garment items from Bangladesh to its key destinations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, experienced considerable growth in the recently concluded financial year 2024-25.
According to country-wise detailed export data of the Export Promotion Bureau, compiled by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange, the country鈥檚 RMG manufacturers earned $39.34, by fetching a positive growth of 8.84 per cent from $36.15 billion in FY24.
The RMG exporters stated that the significant shift of orders from China to Bangladesh has accelerated Bangladesh鈥檚 growth momentum over the past few months, despite ongoing tariff issues and the country鈥檚 political transition.
According to the EPB data, in FY25, Bangladesh exported RMG items worth $19.71 billion to European Union countries, 9.10 per cent higher than the $18.06 billion in FY24.
The export earnings from the EU covered 50.1 per cent of the total earnings from RMG exports.
The Bangladeshi RMG manufacturers earned $7.54 billion from the US, the single largest destination of the country鈥檚 exporters, in FY25, which was 13.79 per cent higher than the $6.63 billion earned in FY24.
The earnings from the North American country accounted for 19.18 per cent of the total revenue.
With a narrow growth of 3.68 per cent, Bangladesh secured $4.34 billion from the UK in FY25, up from $4.19 billion in FY24.
Bangladeshi RMG exporters shipped apparel items worth $1.3 billion to Canada in FY25, a 12.07 per cent increase from the $1.16 billion earned in FY24.
Among the EU countries, Germany remained Bangladesh鈥檚 largest export destination, from which the country earned $4.95 billion in FY25, according to the EPB data.
Following Germany, the export earnings from Spain stood at $3.39 billion, those from France at $2.15 billion, the Netherlands at $2.08 billion, Poland at $1.69 billion, and Italy at $1.54 billion, with positive growth maintained at every destination.
Regarding apparel exports, countries such as the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU are considered traditional markets, while other countries are deemed non-traditional.
Japan, Australia, Russia, India, China, South Korea, the UAE, Malaysia, Brazil and Mexico are major non-traditional export destinations.
In FY25, export earnings from the non-traditional markets also experienced positive growth, with an overall rise of 5.61 per cent to $6.44 billion, up from $6.09 billion in FY24.
The non-traditional market represented 16.36 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 total RMG exports.
In FY25, Japan led these markets with imports worth $1.18 billion from Bangladesh, followed by Australia $813.62 million and India $644.24 million.
Moreover, RMG exports to Turkey and South Korea also witnessed significant earnings, amounting to $449.9 million and $411.46 million, respectively.
According to the EPB data, export earnings from almost all major destinations experienced a considerable growth rate in FY25.
Speaking to 抖阴精品, Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that in the past few months, Bangladesh had witnessed a rise in purchase orders.
鈥楳oreover, a considerable number of orders started to shift from China to Bangladesh due to US tariff, even some Chinese manufacturers shifted their offices and facilities to the country and hired factories,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, according to the World Trade Organization Data, China鈥檚 share in the global apparel market declined to 29 per cent in 2024 from over 31 per cent in 2023.
Inamul Haq Khan also said that buyers consistently trusted Bangladesh due to its ethical production practices.
Regarding the US tariff issue, he said that although the tariff talks concluded with a scope for further discussion, they remain hopeful that a positive outcome may still be achieved.
鈥榃e have come to know that the US and Bangladesh agreed on about 80 per cent of the conditions. We expect, the talks would finally succeed and the tariff might be lowered to 20 per cent-25 per cent,鈥� he added.
He also said that, besides the US, Bangladesh has huge potential in increasing its exports to non-traditional markets, such as Australia, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Mohiuddin Rubel, former BGMEA director, told 抖阴精品 that the besides conventional markets, nontraditional market size was about $150 in 2024, where Bangladesh had only 6 per cent share.
鈥楾here is significant potential for expansion in the markets like Japan, Australia and other markets,鈥� he added.
He urged manufacturers to focus on cultivating new markets and products through relentless innovation to maintain a competitive edge.
Earlier, Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, told 抖阴精品 that the export was mainly volume-driven, not value-driven.
He also suggested that Bangladesh needs to focus on upscaling its product manufacturing to sustain growth, along with local value addition, intra-RMG diversification, and market and product diversification.
He also said that it is high time to focus on graduation from the least developed country status, Trump鈥檚 tariff, and a silent trade war with India.
