The prices of major garment items exported to the US declined year-on-year in the January­-October period this year as American consumers are yet to recover from heightened inflationary pressures.

During the 10 months, the price of men's cotton woven trousers declined by 7.7 percent, according to data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OETXA).

Meanwhile, prices of women's cotton woven trousers declined by 4.4 percent, men's cotton woven shirt by 3.8 percent, cotton knitted sweater by 7 percent and cotton knitted t-shirt by 3.9 percent.

This resulted in 3.33 percent decline in garment shipments from Bangladesh to the US, hitting $6.14 billion.

The US's overall global apparel imports fell 0.33 percent to $67.04 billion in the same period.

China ranked first in apparel shipments to the US while Vietnam took second place.

Bangladesh retained its position as the third-largest garment exporter to the US.

Both the prices and volume of garment export to the US, Bangladesh's single largest export destination, declined as the world's largest economy slowly recovers from persistent inflation, with retail sales growth increasing gradually.

Additionally, due to some domestic problems, the export prices of the garment items declined.

For instance, the garment sector faced massive spates of labour unrest in recent months, meaning many factories could not ship goods on time. So, they had to provide big discounts, reduce prices, or face work order cancellations.

Faruque Hassan, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, added that the negative import growth of clothing items by US retailers and brands also impacted the volume and value of Bangladeshi garments.

"But on the bright side, the US market is rebounding gradually. Shipments have been showing a bit of an upward trend," Hassan told The Daily Star over the phone.

The garment and textile sectors must be supplied with adequate gas and power so that those can run at full capacity, recover their exports and ensure timely shipments, he added.

The taka's sharp depreciation against the US dollar is another reason, with the per unit price of local garment items falling. The taka has lost 36 percent of its value against the greenback since January 2022.

Another reason outlined by the former BGMEA chief is that local manufacturers are now booking work orders at lower prices to keep factories running since they have to incur big losses if machines remain idle.

Local garment factories have been facing challenges such as massive labour unrest and factory closures following the deferral in timely production and shipment.

Very often, factories were shut down in major industrial zones like Ashulia, Savar, Zirani and Zirabo because of the labour unrest, which affected the production and shipment of goods, exporters said.