Bangladesh's apparel export earnings fell 12 per cent in the first 18 days of September 2022.

This fall in export receipts has been putdown to record inflation in the sector's major destinations fuelled by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. In the face of reduced consumer demand, a number of retailers, including Walmart, have already cancelled some orders. Besides, some buyers are requesting exporters to delay shipments or suspend orders ready for delivery.

The slowdown of apparel shipments was expected from August 2022 as most factories have been facing a fall in work orders, which is being reflected in export earnings.The fear is that it might continue till May 2023. The industry is experiencing a slowdown as retailers are stuck with too much inventory at their stores.The war-driven economic recession has badly affected clothing demand. Some knitting factories in Bangladesh have shut down because of order shortages that have continued over two months. Due to high inflation and increased bank interest rates in export destination countries, a number of buyers have been going slow in placing new orders over the last two months and many of them are asking to hold shipments.

Entrepreneurs are looking for new orders from new markets, especially from Japan, Korea and India, for the survival of the industry.