By
Fibre2Fashion
Published
Feb 12, 2024
Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the United States dropped by 25.07% year on year last year to $7.28 billion due to domestic production issues and excess inventory in US retail stores arising out of dampened consumer demand due to high inflation and rising interest rates globally, figures from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel released this month show.
Domestic challenges for garment exporters included inconsistent power and energy supply and a US dollar shortage for raw materials. Official US data indicate the slump in both value and volume of exports, according to Bangladesh media reports.
The United States imported 2.25 billion square metres of apparel from Bangladesh last year—27.94% lower YoY.
Overall US apparel imports also decreased last year by 22.05% YoY to $77.84 billion.
China’s apparel exports to the United States stood at $16.31 billion last year, a 24.98% YoY decline. The Asian giant’s share of the US apparel market fell from 37.32% in 2013 to 20.96% in 2023, while Bangladesh’s share rose to 9.37% last year, up from 6.20% in 2013.
US apparel imports from Vietnam and India last year saw negative growth of 22.29% and 21.42% respectively.
Vietnam and India held 18.21% and 5.74% share in the US apparel market respectively, while Cambodia and Indonesia saw respective declines of 23.58% and 25.19%, capturing 4.27% and 5.38% market share last year.
