Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the European Union in October saw the highest growth of 33.78 per cent year-on-year, marking the strongest performance in the first 10 months of 2024.

The EU’s apparel imports from Bangladesh in October increased to 1.75 billion euros compared with those of 1.31 billion euros in the same month of 2023, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

Exporters said that the flow of work orders from global buyers had been increasing but nearly 34 per cent surge in exports to the EU in October was abnormal.

They said that the shipments halted in July and August, caused by political instability and labour unrest, were likely deferred to September.

This backlog of shipments contributed to the surge in export growth in October, they said.

According to the EU data, Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to the EU faced steep declines early in the year 2024 but managed to rebound in the August, September and October.

The country’s RMG export growth gained momentum in August with a 4.2 per cent increase, strengthened further in September with 7.4 per cent growth.

From January to October of 2024, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU saw poor growth of 0.76 per cent, reaching 15.19 billion euros, up from 15.08 billion euros during the same period in 2023.

This limited growth was primarily due to significant declines in exports during January, February and March.

Former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu said that although global buyers were placing more orders in Bangladesh, the surge in export by nearly 34 per cent in October seemed unusual.

He said that shipments of many consignments were halted in July and August due to the student-led mass uprising and labour unrest in the country, with the goods being shipped later.

Babu said that this backlog of shipments from previous months might have contributed to the surge in export growth in October.

Regarding the current business trend, he said that the flow of orders had remained encouraging and that if the law and order situation improved, Bangladesh would receive more global orders.

The Eurostst data showed that the overall apparel imports by the EU from different countries in the first 10 months of 2024 decreased by 0.16 per cent to 71.47 billion euros from 71.58 billion euros in the same period of the previous year.

The EU’s apparel imports from China in January-October of 2024 grew slightly by 0.24 per cent to 20.03 billion euros from 19.98 billion euros in the same period of 2023.

The EU’s apparel imports from Turkey in the first 10 months of 2024 declined by 6.18 per cent to 7.90 billion euros from 8.43 billion euros in the same period of 2023.

The EU’s apparel imports from India increased by 0.54 per cent to 3.68 billion euros in the first 10 months of 2024 compared with those of 3.66 billion euros in the same period of the past year.

Vietnam’s apparel exports to the EU in January-October period of 2024 grew by 2.46 per cent to 3.27 billion euros from 3.19 billion euros in the same period of 2023.

Pakistan’s apparel exports to the EU grew by 10.81 per cent in the first 10 months of 2024, increasing to 2.88 billion euros from 2.60 billion euros in the same period of 2023, the Eurostat data showed.