Over the last ten years, Bangladesh has exported garments worth $7.34 billion to the United States, according to a recent report by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) under the US government.
Big Growth in Exports Over Ten Years
The report shows that in 2015, Bangladesh exported $5.4 billion worth of garments to the US. By 2024, this amount grew to $7.34 billion. This indicates that Bangladesh’s garment industry has grown strongly and steadily during the past ten years, increasing by 35.94%.
Impact of COVID-19 in 2020
Although the export trend was positive up to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused a major drop in exports.
- In 2019, Bangladesh exported $5.92 billion,
- But in 2020, it fell to $5.22 billion, a decline of 11.76%.
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Post-COVID Recovery Stronger Than the US
Since 2020, Bangladesh’s garment exports have grown significantly—by 40.45%.
In comparison, US garment imports grew by 23.72% during the same period, showing that Bangladesh recovered faster than the US average.
Overall US Garment Imports Declined
The OTEXA report also noted that overall garment imports into the US dropped over the past decade:
- In 2015, total US garment imports were $851.6 billion,
- But by 2024, that number went down to $792.6 billion—a 6.94% decrease.
US Market Faced Challenges After COVID
Despite indications of recovery during COVID, the US economy continued to suffer a number of challenges:
- In 2020, total US garment imports dropped by 23.47% (from $837 billion in 2019 to $640.6 billion in 2020).
- Even in 2024, the US had not returned to its 2015 import levels.
Reasons Behind the Decline
The paper identifies a number of causes for the downturn in the market and the drop in US imports:
- Less consumer spending during the economic downturn.
- High dependency on imports (around 95% of the retail sector).
- Increased tariffs (average 18.5% before Trump administration).
- Higher shipping costs and
- Short product lifespan in the garment industry.
Maintaining a seamless and effective clothing supply chain in the US market was challenging due to these issues.
Source: Ntv
