As per a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the prices of Bangladeshi apparel items have fallen sharply compared to the Vietnamese products in the EU and US markets. The price of 100 kg of made-in-Bangladesh cotton fiber T-shirt declined by 1 per cent year-on-year to €1,091.5 euros in 2020. However, the price of the same product made in Vietnam rose by 3 per cent to reach €2,157.9.. Similarly, the price of each 100 kg of women or girls' cotton fibre pullover made in Bangladesh decreased by 7 per cent year-on-year to €1,329.5 in 2020 whereas the price of the Vietnamese ones stabilized at € 2,157.8.

The prices of each 100 kg of Bangladeshi man-made fibre pullovers for women and girls fell by 6 per cent to 1,319.4 euros from 1,409.6 euros in 2019 at the EU markets. However, the Vietnamese variant has seen only a 3 per cent year-on-year price fall, hitting 1,906.2 euros in 2020.

In the US market, the price of a dozen of Bangladeshi T-shirts made from cotton fell by 20 per cent to $17.99 in 2020 from $22.43 in 2019 while the price of the same product made in Vietnam declined by 17 per cent to $31.9 in 2020 from $38.2 in 2019.

The price of a dozen Bangladesh made sweaters and pullovers declined 2 per cent to $39.31 in 2020 from $40.23 in 2019. The price of a dozen of Bangladeshi manufactured trousers for women and girls made from cotton fibre declined by 12 per cent to $64.17 in 2020 from $72.88 in 2019 while its Vietnamese variant has seen only a 6 per cent price fall, reaching $84.6 in 2020 from $90.5 in 2019.

Bangladesh's export performance was driven by both volume and value factors, according to the CPD study. Exchange rate management is emerging as a key factor, driving export competitiveness, it said.

The CPD also said the export target set for fiscal 2021 to achieve 21 per cent growth over fiscal 2020 will not be achieved.