Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports for the period of July-November in the current financial year 2024-25 reached $16.12 billion, marking a 12.34 per cent increase compared to $14.35 billion during the same period in FY24.

This growth was driven by a combination of factors, including a pre-holiday rush for Christmas, Black Friday and Thanksgiving, as well as the clearance of a backlog of orders, experts and exporters said.

Export earnings from readymade garment in November, 2024 also increased by 16.25 per cent to $3.31 billion compared with those of $2.84 billion in the same month of the past year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau data released on Wednesday.

Mahmud Hasan Khan, a former vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, attributed the rise in apparel shipments to the accumulation of deferred orders from August and September.

While he acknowledged that global buyers were placing more orders with Bangladeshi exporters, he pointed out that prices remained low, as manufacturers were compelled to accept orders at reduced rates due to increased production capacity.

Mahmud also expressed concerns about the sustainability of this export growth, warning that it could falter without improvements in law and order and adequate banking support.

He said that the aftershocks of recent political instability and labour unrests could surface in the coming months, as buyers might reconsider placing orders if the instability persisted.

According to the EPB data, that export earnings from the knitwear subsector rose by 12.23 per cent to $8.96 billion in the five months of FY 25 compared with those of $7.97 billion in the same period of FY24.

Earnings from woven garments grew by 12.48 per cent in the July-November period of FY25, reaching $7.17 billion, up from $6.38 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

Fazlul Hoque, the former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, highlighted that demand in major markets such as the European Union and the US is on the rise.

He also said that the ongoing uncertainty stemming from the China-US trade war, particularly regarding the potential for the new US government to impose further duties on Chinese imports, has led buyers to seek orders from other countries.

As a result, Bangladesh is benefiting from an influx of work orders.

Hoque expressed optimism, suggesting that this positive trend may continue in the coming months.

EPB data showed that, the country’s overall export earnings in the five months of FY25 also increased by 11.76 per cent to $19.91 billion compared with those of $17.81billion in the same period of FY24.

Bangladesh’s export earnings in November 2024 increased by $15.63 per cent year-on-year to $4.12 billion compared with those of $3.56 billion in the same month of 2023.

EPB vice-chairman Md Anwar Hossain said that despite challenges from the recent political changeover, Bangladesh’s export earnings had continued to grow, driven by the resilience of entrepreneurs and the dedication of workers.

Labour situation has improved in the RMG sector and most of all the factories are running in full capacity across the country, he said while publishing the export earnings data for November at a press briefing held at the EPB office in the capital Dhaka.

Anwar also said that export earnings had shown encouraging growth in recent months, driven by the peak season for shipments, which included the completion of the backlog of orders, the pre-holiday rush and the buyers’ end-of-year inventory management.

The government data showed that the home textile sub-sector registered 5.03 per cent growth in exports in the July–November period, with earnings reaching $326.83 million.

Exports of jute and jute goods in in the five months of FY25 totalled at $341.7 million, showing a decline of 9.99 per cent.

Earnings from agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits and dry foods grew by 8.34 per cent to $495.38 million over the five months of FY25.

Export earnings from engineering products increased by 5.70 per cent to $205.8 million in July-November of FY25.

Exports of frozen and live fish rose by 11.62 per cent, amounting to $198.09 million in the period.

Earnings from leather and leather goods exports totalled at $466.39 million, registering a growth of 7.61 per cent in the July-November period of FY25.

Pharmaceutical exports amounted to $92.58 million, an increase of 13.14 per cent in the period.

The EPB data also showed that exports of plastic products grew by 35.38 per cent, reaching $131.82 million in the five months of FY25.