Economy Desk: Bangladesh has overtaken China in the export of knitwear to the European Union (EU). Bangladesh is now the top knitwear exporter to the EU, both in terms of price and volume.
The EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, recently released this information. Bangladesh Garment Exporters Association (BGMEA) reported on Monday, December 18, based on EU statistics.
According to the data from BGMEA, EU member countries have taken USD 900 million worth of knitwear from Bangladesh in nine months, from January to September this year. At the same time, they imported net garments worth 896 million dollars from China. Considering the nine months of the year, this is the first time that Bangladesh’s knitwear exports to the EU have surpassed China’s. At the same time, Bangladesh is at the top in terms of quantity. EU imported 57 million 10 million kg of knitwear from Bangladesh in the last month of January to September. At the same time, their import from China was 442.2 million kg.
President of BGMEA Farooq Hasan informed the members and journalists of the organization through a letter on Monday.
In the letter, he said that last year, Bangladesh surpassed China in terms of exports of knitwear to the EU. Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU were 133 million kg last year. During the same period, China’s garment exports to the EU were 131 million kg. Bangladesh exported $7.3 billion worth of garments to the EU that year, less than China. But for the first time in the first nine months of this year, Bangladesh has surpassed China in the export of knitwear. It is a matter of great pride and joy for Bangladesh.
In his letter, the BGMEA president expressed optimism that Bangladesh would set new milestones in some more ready-made garments in the coming years.
The countries of the European Union are one of the top destinations for exports of ready-made garments. If the exports of Bangladesh increase in this market, it will have a positive effect on the growth of exports as a whole.
Meanwhile, according to the data from Eurostat, Bangladesh overtook China to occupy the top position in the EU in terms of net exports, but China still holds the top position in overall apparel exports. In the first nine months of this year, China’s total ready-made garment exports to the EU were over $18.55 billion in terms of garment value. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s total export of ready-made garments was 14.82 billion dollars. China exported nearly $4 billion more garments than Bangladesh.
It is known that Bangladesh surpassed China in terms of the quantity of knitwear last year as well. In 2022, total apparel exports to the EU in terms of volume were 1.33 billion kg.
On the other hand, China exported 1.31 billion kg of garments. Despite exporting more clothes in terms of quantity, Bangladesh has managed to earn 7.3 billion dollars less than China in terms of value.
