China is the top supplier of apparel to the Middle East. During January 2022 to June 2022, China ranked first on the suppliers’ list followed by Bangladesh, Turkey, Italy and India. Supplies from the top five countries to the region surged in the first six months of 2022 over the same period of the previous year.

Imports from China grew by 31 per cent from January 2022 to June 2022 on a yearly basis, compared to the mild growth of 0.88 per cent in January 2021 to June 2021. Middle East’s apparel imports from Bangladesh rose to 62 per cent in the first half of this year from 0.46 per cent during the same period of last year. The share of Bangladesh in the total imports by Middle East in the first half of this year was 11 per cent. The share of Turkey, Italy and India stood at nine per cent, six per cent and five per cent respectively. Morocco, Vietnam, Georgia, Spain, and Cambodia take the next five spots on the list of the top ten apparel supplier countries to the Middle East.

Asia-Pacific was the largest sourcing region for the Middle East with imports amounting to 62 per cent of total imports. The Asia-Pacific region supplies about two-thirds of the total apparel imported by the Middle East.