Bangladesh’s garments shipments to non-traditional, mostly major markets grew by 29.62 per cent year-on-year to $3.15 billion in the first nine months (July–march) of FY2018-19 compared to $ 2.43 billion during the same period last year. This growth has been possible because of an incentive package and access to duty-free markets. The government had announced a cash incentive of 5 per cent in 2010 for exports to non-traditional markets. Another reason is that most of the non-traditional markets have offered duty-free access to Bangladeshi apparel exporters.

In the July–March period of FY2018–19, Bangladesh earned $ 386.47 million from its exports to China, showing a growth of 43.68 per cent. China, the world’s largest apparel supplier, has started importing products from Bangladesh after the Chinese government allowed duty-free access to over 5,000 Bangladeshi products. From its exports to India, Bangladesh earned $204.13 million during the same period of FY 2017-18.