Dhaka, June 24 (IANS) Bangladesh is losing the US market for garments to India, China, Vietnam and Indonesia, among others, causing concern among exporters.
Citing a recent report of US Commerce Department, exporters say Bangladesh, recording a marginal fall during January-April this year, has witnessed overall negative growth in shipments compared to other Asian competitors.
The report on ‘US apparel imports from major Asian sources in January-April 2010’ shows Bangladesh’s apparel shipments saw one percent decline over the like period of the past year.
The report shows that in January-April, shipments from China grew more than 13 percent to $6.8 billion, Vietnam 9.6 percent to $1.7 billion and Indonesia 6.1 percent to $1.46 billion.
Shipments from India in the period grew by 1.8 percent to $1.15 billion, Pakistan 8 percent to $0.4 billion and from Cambodia they grew by 3 percent to $0.65 billion.
‘The post-recession US market appears to be harsh to Bangladesh,’ a Bangladeshi executive who works for the Dhaka sourcing office of an US importer told New Age.
In the first four months of the current year, Bangladesh’s apparel shipments to the US were worth $1.21 billion against the figure of $1.2 billion in the like period of the 2009.
‘Sourcing dynamics have been changing a lot in the post-recession market,’ the executive said. ‘Convenient contracts and deliveries, more interactive marketing efforts and many other things are influencing the minds of the importers.’
Readymade garments and knitwear are Bangladesh’s top earners and netted $12 billion in 2009. However, it is also afflicted by political and industrial violence.
