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Expanding Horizons: Bangladesh's Export Growth Driven by Non-Traditional Markets
- By Efazul Karim -- 6 minutes read --
- May 16, 23
" Navigating Bangladesh's Export Landscape: Trends, Challenges, and Strategies "
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) recently published data suggesting that Bangladesh is witnessing a noteworthy diversification of its export markets. The first ten months of the ongoing fiscal year have witnessed a remarkable growth of 30.80% in exports to non-traditional markets, reaching a total value of $7 billion by April. Moreover, the market shares of non-traditional export destinations have seen a rise, surpassing 18% as compared to the previous year's 15% during the same period.
Within the realm of non-traditional markets, countries like Japan, Australia, India, and South Korea have emerged as significant players, with their import of ready-made garments (RMG) amounting to $1.32 billion, $961.30 million, $889.06 million, and $477.81 million, respectively.
However, the situation differs when it comes to the more traditional markets such as the United States, Canada, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK), as indicated by the EPB data. Export growth in these markets has experienced only marginal progress and, in some cases, even faced negative trends. These findings highlight the contrasting performance of the export industry across different markets. It is crucial for countries to identify the underlying factors contributing to this divergence and take necessary measures to address them in order to remain competitive.
The data further reveals that exports to EU countries witnessed a moderate increase of 8.58% in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. However, exports to Germany, Bulgaria, and Poland experienced declines. Conversely, Bangladesh's RMG exports to France and Spain demonstrated positive growth rates of 22.21% and 16.69%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis. Italy also showed a significant positive trend, recording a substantial growth rate of 42.40% and reaching $1.85 billion in exports.
In contrast, Bangladesh's exports to the United States, which constitutes its largest market, encountered a negative growth rate of 7.13% during the same period, with the total export value amounting to $6.94 billion. On the other hand, the country's apparel exports to Canada and the UK experienced positive growth rates of 16.09% and 10.88%, respectively.
Overall, the apparel industry in Bangladesh has maintained a year-on-year growth rate of 9.09% during the period from July to April in the fiscal year 2022-23. The cumulative value of RMG exports for this period amounted to $38.57 billion, with the EU market contributing $19.20 billion, representing 49.78% of the total exports.
Recognizing the importance of diversifying export markets to reduce reliance on specific markets, industry experts have emphasized the need for collaboration between the government and private sector stakeholders. They recommend exploring new markets and increasing the volume of exports from the country. Bangladesh's RMG sector is expected to sustain its growth trajectory despite the pandemic.
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