The knitwear segment has retained its position as Bangladesh’s biggest exports earner in the readymade garment sector.

The knitwear segment overtook the woven sub-sector for the first time in the financial year of 2007-08 and held the pole position until 2010-11 before woven outran the knitwear segment in 2011-12 to continue its dominance till 2019-20.However, in 2020-21, knitwear was able to recapture its lost glory (as the highest export earner) and continued to outrun woven in the last fiscal year as well. In the first quarter of the current financial year, when overall export earnings showed a falling trend, the knitwear segment grew nine per cent year-on-year and even during the pandemic knitwear export was able to put up a good show.The use of knitwear items has risen as consumers spent more time at home.

Policy supports like cash incentives and utility have helped the entrepreneurs invest in the knitwear sub-sector including the backward linkage yarn, fabric and dyeing segments.Besides, changing patterns in fashion and buyers' preferences for quick delivery of products due to the long lead time caused by Covid-induced lengthy transportation also pushed buyers to source knit products from Bangladesh. Composite units having their own knitting, dyeing, sewing and finishing facilities are the other strengths of the country's knitwear sector.