Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) export to the European Union (EU) saw a positive growth of 43.38% to $13.15 billion in the first seven months (January-July) of this year, according to the latest import statistics revealed by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) and compiled by the BGMEA.
Manufacturers had exported apparel items worth $7.82 billion to the EU countries in the same period last year, revealed the Eurostat data.
Moreover, the EU's global apparel imports grew to $56.33 billion in the first seven months of 2022, attaining a growth of 24.74% from $45.16 billion in the same period last year, data showed.
However, local manufacturers said that Eurostat usually has a gap of three months in publishing data.
So, since July, the global situation has changed notably due to economic turmoil, inflationary pressures, war, and prolonged summer which led to a decline in orders and already caused a negative growth in September by 7.52%, which may continue in the coming months.
However, according to the Eurostat data, China, the top apparel exporter to the EU, registered a growth of 23.52% year-on-year (YoY) to $14.93 billion in the mentioned period, higher than $12.09 billion in the same period last year.
Followed by Bangladesh, Turkey is the third largest apparel exporter to the EU and also posted a YoY growth of 17.32%.
In the January to July period of 2022, the EU imported apparel items worth $7.08 billion from Turkey, higher than $6.03 billion in the first seven month of last year.
Being fourth, India registered a growth of 26.78% to $3.16 billion, from $2.5 billion in the same period of 2021, Eurostat data said.
Vietnam secured the fifth position by exporting apparel items worth $2.3 billion in the first seven months of 2022, fetching a YoY growth of 22.78% from $1.87 of the same period last year.
Among other notable global apparel manufacturers, Pakistan fetched a YoY growth of 28.05% to $2.14 billion, Cambodia of 41.5% to $1.96 billion, and Morocco of 16.67% to $1.88 billion in the January to July period of the current year, Eurostat data showed.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Mohiuddin Rubel, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that the growth was higher due to revenge shopping and unit price of raw materials coming out till July or August.
“EPB data has already shown that the growth in September was negative by 7.52%.When Eurostat's September data will be published, it will be seen that negative growth is also happening in Europe,” he added.
Due to Eurostat data being published later, a gap of positive-negative or confusion has been created, he further said, adding that due to the recent geopolitical tension, retailers are struggling to adapt to an increasingly inflationary global market.
“The retail sales of many European brands have declined which increased their inventory stock and due to these challenges in the global economy, EU’s import may start slowing down in the final quarter of the year.
Orders have decreased as retail sales have decreased. Buyers are postponing orders, even now asking for discounts on product prices, offering lower prices,” he added.
The global economy may recover from this turbulent situation only if the war ends
“In fact, we are going through an uncertain situation. To mitigate this, we have to focus on markets outside of the West,” he added.
