In the first eight months of 2022 Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US were up 53 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

However purchase orders have declined significantly by nearly 30 per cent in the last few months due to the ongoing geopolitical crisis, energy crisis, and global inflation.

Top brands like Walmart and Gap have postponed their global orders due to overstocking their products. Bangladesh is veering away from dependency on the European or North American markets and is finding new markets like east Asia and the Middle East.

China and Vietnam occupy the first and the second highest positions respectively in the US market. US apparel imports from China in the January 2022 to August 2022 period experienced a growth of 37 per cent compared to the same period of 2021. Vietnam’s exports of apparel items to the US in January 2022 to August 2022 fetched a growth of 33 per cent. Bangladesh occupies the third position. India secured the fourth position by exporting apparel items and registering a growth of 56 per cent in the first eight months of 2022. Readymade garment imports of the US from Indonesia in the January to August 2022 increased by 56 per cent while imports from Cambodia grew by 51 per cent.