Apparel exports to non-traditional markets on the rise

Although garment shipments from Bangladesh to major destinations saw negative growth over the past few months due to inflationary pressure stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war, rising exports to non-traditional markets has emerged as a silver lining.

Bangladesh considers all markets other than the US, UK, EU and Canada as non-traditional.

During the January-April period of the current calendar year, apparel shipments to non-traditional markets rose 28.95 per cent to $2.96 billion, which is 19.01 per cent of the country's annual garment exports.

Japan is the top destination among major non-traditional markets, fetching $566.99 million during the four-month period, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Exports to other non-traditional markets, such as Australia, India, South Korea and Turkey, are also on the rise but shipments to Russia, the UAE and Chile have declined in contrast, the BGMEA said in a statement.

As Asia turned out to be an increasingly promising market for us, exports to emerging markets such as Japan, India and South Korea are in an upward trend, the association added.

During the January-April period, garment exports from Bangladesh totalled $15.58 billion, of which shipments to the EU contributed $7.7 billion, down 1.55 per cent year-on-year.

Of the 27 member countries that make up the EU, those that posted negative growth in garment shipments from Bangladesh are: Germany, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Bulgaria and Slovenia.

Particularly, exports to Germany declined by 21.08 per cent during the first four months of the year while shipments to France and Spain increased by 9.45 per cent and 15.45 per cent respectively.

Likewise, apparel exports to the US fell 17.86 per cent year-on-year to $2.67 billion from $3.25 billion during the January-April period of 2022.

Meanwhile, exports to Canada saw the slightest slump of 0.21 per cent to reach $455.48 million.

On the other hand, exports to the UK showed growth of 9.56 per cent year-on-year, fetching $1.79 billion during the first four months of 2023.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the rising growth of exports to non-traditional markets has been offsetting the declining trend in shipments to major destinations.

For instance, Germany is the second largest export destination for Bangladesh after the US.

But as Germany is going through a recession amid recent crises, garment shipments to the country may not show positive growth any time soon.

Hassan then informed that with the growth of garment exports to Germany and the US now in negative territory, this trend could continue up till December.

But shipments to non-traditional markets, especially some in Asia like Japan, South Korea and India, will keep growing at the same time, he said.

In a statement on May 16, the Washington-based National Retail Federation (NRF) said retail sales bounced back in April, showing both month-on-month and year-on-year growth.

"Retail sales rebounded in April, reflecting consumer resilience in face of elevated economic uncertainty," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF.

Moderating price levels, continued labour market strength and wage gains have increased consumers' ability to spend. However, they remain cautious and concerned about the current economic environment.

As such, retailers continue to provide competitive pricing and convenience to help cost-sensitive consumers stretch their budgets," he added.

Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist of the NRF, said consumers remained engaged in April.

"Shoppers are being selective and price-sensitive, but we continue to expect that spending will see modest gains through the course of the year," he added.

Kleinhenz went on to say that while year-over-year growth has slowed partly due to upward revisions of last year's data, it is also an early indication that credit conditions are tightening and excess savings are shrinking.

The NRF is the US's largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to the country's annual GDP and supporting one in four jobs, or 52 million working Americans.