Bangladesh’s exports of travel goods to the United States experienced a notable upturn, achieving an 18.42 per cent year-on-year growth from January to April 2024.

According to data from the US Department of Commerce, the country earned $27.53 million in export revenue from travel goods including luggage/briefcases, sports bags, women’s handbags, and purses during this period, up from $23.25 million in the same timeframe of 2023.

Exporters attributed this growth to increased global demand, particularly from the US market.

However, Bangladesh struggled to capture the desired market share due to extended lead times and limited access to raw materials.

In 2023, Bangladesh’s travel goods exports to the US totaled $81.77 million, marking a 20.12 per cent decline from $102.36 million in 2022, as indicated by the data.

Meanwhile, the total US imports of travel goods from all countries decreased by 16.04 per cent in 2023, amounting to $11.06 billion, down from $13.17 billion in 2022.

During January-April 2024, the US imports of travel goods from various countries declined by 4.46 per cent, totaling $3.46 billion compared to $3.62 billion in the same period the previous year.

Despite overall negative growth in US travel goods imports, many Asian manufacturers, including those in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and Thailand, managed to mitigate or narrow their export declines during this period.

Ishtiak Parag, managing director of Victor Bags Factory Ltd, noted that although Bangladesh’s exports of travel bags to the US showed positive momentum recently, challenges such as lengthy production times and raw material shortages persisted.

‘Upon receiving export orders, we rely heavily on imported raw materials from China, which not only increases costs but also prolongs production cycles, he explained.

According to US data, China’s travel goods exports to the US decreased by 2.76 per cent to $751.92 million in the first four months of 2024, down from $773.25 million during the same period in 2023.

In contrast, Vietnam saw an 8.28 per cent increase in travel goods exports to the US, reaching $351.44 million in January-April 2024 compared to $324.57 million in 2023.

Similarly, Cambodia’s travel bag imports to the US rose by 2.78 per cent, amounting to $498.35 million in the first four months of 2024 versus $484.86 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Meanwhile, India’s travel goods exports to the US slightly increased by 0.45 per cent, reaching $130 million from $129.42 million in January-April 2023.