Bangladesh has fallen far behind in terms of apparel export to the United States in the January-February period of 2024 compared with its competitors.

Experts and exporters held a number of domestic issues, including high cost of doing business and lack of diversification, responsible for losing the export share in the US market.

They termed the scenario concerning, saying that although the demand for apparel increased in the US, Bangladesh was lagging behind China and Vietnam in the market.

The country’s clothing exports to the US in the first two months of 2024 witnessed a significant decline in bath the value and volume terms while the exports of China and Vietnam came back on the positive track in the market.

Bangladesh’s apparel export to the US, the largest export destination for Bangladesh, in January-February of 2024 fell by 19.24 cent in value and 12.79 per cent in volume, according to the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel data released on Friday.

At the same time, readymade garment export by China to the US grew by 0.48 per cent in value and 14.94 per cent in volume.

The data showed that Vietnam’s apparel exports to the US in the first two months of 2024 also increased by 0.14 per cent in value and 8.81 per cent in volume.

‘It is concerning that Bangladesh is lagging behind its competitors in the US market,’ Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said.

The economist recommended that the government and industry leaders should look into the issue seriously.

Mustafiz also suggested addressing some domestic issues, including diversification within the RMG sector and productivity enhancement to remain competitive in the US market.

Bangladesh’s RMG export to the US in January-February of 2024 fell to $1.18 billion compared with that of $1.47 billion in the same period of 2023.

In terms of quantity, the apparel imports by the US from Bangladesh in the first two months of this year fell to 395.69 million square metres from 453.73 million square metres in the same period of 2023, the data showed.

The data showed that the import of apparel by the US from China in January-February of 2024 increased to $2.54 billion from $2.53 billion in the same period of previous year.

In terms of quantity, the apparel export by China to the US in the first two months of this year grew to 1.44 billion square metres from 1.25 billion square metres in the same period of 2023.

RMG imports by the US from Vietnam in the two months of 2024 stood at $2.36 billion, which was almost the same in January-February of 2023.

In terms of volume, Vietnamese apparel exports to the US in January-February of 2024 increased to 705.09 million square metres from 647.98 million square metres in the same period of the past year.

The data showed that the total US imports of readymade garments from the world in the first two months of January-February in 2024 decreased by 7.77 per cent to $12.18 billion compared with those of $13.21 billion in the same period of 2023.

The OTEXA data showed that Bangladesh’s position remained unchanged as the third-largest apparel exporter to the US market with 9.12 per cent share while China and Vietnam occupied the first and the second highest positions with 21.26 per cent and 18.46 per cent share respectively.

Former Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Fazlul Hoque said that Bangladesh was losing its competitiveness due to the gradual increase in the cost of doing business while China and Vietnam were desperately offering low prices for the apparel to gain global market share.

‘Policymakers should take the issue into consideration why Bangladesh is failing to take advantage of increased demand for apparel in the US market,’ he said.

If Bangladesh continues to lose its share in the US market, it would be tough to regain, Fazlul said.

The US’s RMG import from Cambodia in January-February of 2024 also increased by 15.34 per cent to $545.20 million compared with that of $472.67 million in the same period of 2023.

India’s RMG exports to the US market in January-February of 2024 declined by 13.75 per cent to $759.48 million compared with those of $880.54 million in the same period of the previous year.

RMG imports by the US from Indonesia in the first two months of 2024 decreased by 17.25 per cent to $660.35 million compared with those of $797.99 million in the same period of 2023, the data showed.