In the context of declining demand in traditional export markets in Europe and the United States, Bangladesh’s garment exports to China increased by 14.77% in the 2016/17 fiscal year (July 2016-June 2017), totaling US$392 million. Industry insiders believe that with rapid growth, China will surpass Japan and become Bangladesh’s largest garment export market in Asia in the next three years.
According to reports, the traditional markets for Bangladesh’s clothing exports are mainly concentrated in developed countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. In the 2016/17 fiscal year, the country’s exports to the EU were US$17.75 billion, with the growth rate falling to 3.49%; exports to Japan fell by 3.88% to US$740 million.
Data show that in the 2016/17 fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export growth rate reached its lowest level in 15 years, with the full-year growth rate being only 1.7%. Among them, the export revenue of the key industry garment manufacturing industry was US$28.15 billion, and the growth rate dropped sharply from 10.14% in the 2015/16 fiscal year to 0.25%.
Professor Siddiqui, a Bangladeshi legal economist, believes that if the exports of the garment industry maintain the current trend, China is likely to replace Japan as Bangladesh’s largest garment export market in Asia in the next three years. In the next 10 years, China is likely to It has surpassed Europe and the United States to become Bangladesh’s largest garment export destination.
Local industry insiders said that with the rapid development of China’s economy, the middle-income group with strong purchasing power continues to grow and is becoming the main export target group of Bangladeshi clothing. Local manufacturers in Bangladesh said that compared with traditional markets in Europe and the United States, exporting to China is closer and they can get a good price from brands and retailers.
It is worth mentioning that during the financial crisis in 2008, global trade shrank severely and Bangladesh’s exports were also affected, but Bangladesh’s exports to China were growing.
Siddiqui said that China has implemented a zero-tariff policy on clothing and more than 4,000 other products from Bangladesh. Chinese companies can also invest in the garment industry and upstream and downstream sectors in Bangladesh.
Since Bangladesh enjoys preferential tariff reductions and exemptions for exports of garments to China, the EU, and Japan, and Bangladesh has obvious labor cost advantages, more and more Chinese clothing brands have begun to organize production in Bangladesh, including jeans and T-shirts. , underwear, etc.
Bangladesh is located in South Asia, with a population of more than 160 million. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest apparel exporter. The apparel industry employs more than 4 million people in the country, 80% of whom are women. The Chinese market has become a new growth point for Bangladesh’s clothing exports
AAAfefgehfjgffjhggjgjyuy
