Bangladesh’s US apparel exports decline 4.57pc in Jan-Sep

Bangladesh's garment exports to the United States fell 4.57% in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, but by less than the drop in overall U.S. apparel imports, official U.S. data showed.

The figures, from the U.S. Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), show the United States imported $614 crore worth of garments from Bangladesh between January and September, down from $642 crore a year earlier. The volume of Bangladeshi exports fell 3.65%.

Over the same period, total U.S. apparel imports from all countries came to $5,668 crore, or $56.68 billion, down 6.14% from a year earlier. Import volume fell 8.10%, while the average unit price rose 2.14%.

Bangladesh's average unit price fell 0.95% even as global prices rose, a worrying trend for exporters. According to OTEXA, Bangladeshi garments are now priced about 3.5% below the overall average in the U.S. market, a gap that was almost nonexistent a year ago.

Among seven listed Asian suppliers, five saw average unit prices fall. China recorded the sharpest drop at 7.66%, while prices for garments from Vietnam and Cambodia rose.

Bangladesh's exports also swung month to month. Shipments to the United States rose 11.15% in August but fell 5.57% in September. Bangladesh's share of the U.S. apparel import market slipped to 10.83% from 10.99% a year earlier.

Among competitors, exports from China, India and Pakistan declined. India's fell 25.19%, China's 23.08% and Pakistan's 3.67%. Cambodia's rose 6.42%, Indonesia's 2.81% and Vietnam's 0.26%.