Bangladesh’s garment exports in November 2022 rose by 26 percent year on year. This is commendable in view of the ongoing economic slowdown and has come in the wake of rising raw material prices, highend apparel production and increased exports to new markets such as Korea, the Middle East and India.

Exports from Bangladesh’s chief competitors China, Myanmar and Vietnam have lagged in the last five months due to the changing global situation. As a result, some buyers from these countries have recently turned to Bangladesh.In recent months, Bangladesh’s exporters faced a huge drop in output due to gas and electricity disruptions. The Ukraine-Russia war also dragged down purchase orders from Europe and America, the largest market for the country’s garment exports, amid growing fears of an economic recession.

During September 2022 and October 2022 export revenues dropped by six percent and eight percent. But November 2022 was a turn-up for the books as export receipts exceeded the target for the month by 17 percent.Garments fuelled the turnaround, accounting for almost 83 percent of the total exports from July 2022 to November 2022. Exports have grown ten percent in the first five months of fiscal year 2023.