Bangladesh's apparel export value declined in July

More new Covid-19 cases reported in Indian, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Due to the new wave of outbreaks and the delay in the problem of container shortages, Bangladesh's Chittagong and Indian ports are facing serious cargo accumulation and serious port congestion. Southeast Asia and South Asia are the main production bases of textile and clothing, affecting the supply side of textile and clothing. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of textile and clothing products in the world after China. Due to the raging delta variant of the new crown virus, the Bangladeshi government decided to implement a nationwide lockdown policy on the country's textile and clothing industry on July 23 after Muslim Eid al-Fitr (July 19-23).

Does the pandemic in Bangladesh affect Bangladesh's apparel export?

According to the latest data, Bangladesh's apparel export value amounted to 2.887 billion USD in Jul, down by 11% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month respectively. The apparel export value reduced by 1.2% compared to July 2019. In terms of varieties, the export value of knitted apparel rose by 3.8% month-on-month but down 5.2% year-on-year respectively. The export value of woven apparel dropped by 17.8% year-on-year and 5.3% month-on-month respectively. Compared with Jul 2019, the export value of knitted and woven apparel moved down by 1.2% and 24.7% year-on-year respectively. In Jan-Jul, Bangladesh's apparel export value rose by 23.9% year-on-year but down 7.7% compared to Jan-July 2019, indicating that the apparel export was weak.

In terms of yearly and monthly changes, from January to February 2021, the export still decreased year-on-year, mainly due to the obvious shrinkage of woven apparel, and gradually became positive year-on-year from March to June. On the one hand, the base was low last year, on the other hand, the demand was gradually recovering. However, the double-digit decline occurred again in July, indicating that Bangladesh's apparel export was not ideal, which was also another decline after three consecutive months.

The main exporting markets of Bangladesh's apparel was Europe which occupied a share of 60%, followed by US. Demand recovery of EU and US was particularly important for Bangladesh's apparel exports.

The last fiscal year has ended, and the EU's share was still increasing. In FY 2020/21, Bangladesh's apparel export rose by 12.55% year-on-year, down 7.8% compared with FY 2018/2019, indicating that Bangladesh's apparel export was still recovering.

Home textile exports slipped by 1.8% year-on-year and 1.4% month-on-month respectively.

In conclusion, Bangladesh's apparel exports were poor in July, with year-on-year and month on month declines. In terms of varieties, the performance of woven apparel was still inferior to that of knitted one, and the export of home textiles also decreased year-on-year and month on month. Keep eyes on the epidemic in Bangladesh. If the epidemic worsens further and the production is affected for a long time, orders may transfer, but there will be many choices in the shift. However, the cost in China was significantly higher than that in Bangladesh, so it is uncertain whether orders will flow to China.