Bangladesh expects to get a ten per cent share of the global apparel market by 2030.

This hope is based on the potential of the markets in Europe, the UK and the US amid a declining share of Chinese garments. But in order to reach the ten per cent target the country has to achieve an annual export growth of 11 per cent.

As Chinese apparel export share is declining in western markets due to the rising tension between the west and China, Bangladesh’s exporters are likely to take advantage of the situation to boost their products. China is moving away from low value-added apparel to more sophisticated items, and this can be an advantage for Bangladesh’s apparel exporters.

However Bangladesh has to deal with issues like logistics, port handling capacity and skilled labor, environment and labor rights. Bangladesh must focus on AI-developed equipment, skilled labor and labor wage satisfaction to face the challenges in the coming years.

In fiscal 2021-22 Bangladesh’s export share was up by 36 per cent year-on-year. Earnings from July to August grew by 26 per cent compared to the same period of the last fiscal year. Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU grew by 59 per cent in the January to June period of 2022.