Apparel sales to US fall 16pc in January

Apparel export to the US, the country's single largest destination, registered over 16 per cent decline in January 2021 year-on-year mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh fetched US$ 519.37 million in January 2021 through apparel export, down from $622.82 million over the corresponding month of 2020, according to data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) - affiliated with the US Department of Commerce.

In the first month of 2021, Bangladesh shipped 198.66 million square metres of apparel items, whereas the export was 219.08 million square metres in January 2020.

The country fetched $5.22 billion in 2020, which was $5.92 billion in 2019, according to data.

Experts and exporters attributed the poor performance of ready-made garments (RMG) export to the US to sluggish demand, higher Covid infection rate, change in sales pattern, and election-related uncertainties.

However, some of the local exporters were still upbeat, as they were getting more queries in the recent months compared to three to six months back.

The OTEXA data also showed that the total apparel import by the US declined by 18.34 per cent to $5.52 billion in January 2021, which was $6.76 billion in January 2020.

China, the largest exporter to the US, also witnessed a 19.90 per cent negative growth in RMG export with earnings amounting to $1.29 billion in the first month of the current calendar year. The country shipped apparel items worth $1.62 billion in the same month of last year.

Vietnam's RMG export to the US market declined by 18.62 per cent to $1.07 billion last year, down from $1.31 billion.

The US apparel import from Cambodia that witnessed a 5.45 per cent growth in 2020 despite the pandemic, decreased by 17.31 per cent in January 2021. Cambodia fetched $229.61 million in the month, according to OTEXA data.

The US apparel import from India fell by 22.28 per cent to $287.95 million in January 2021.

Indonesia's export to the US also decreased by 33.17 per cent to $275.78 million, data showed.

Talking to the FE, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, director of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said local RMG export to almost all major destinations witnessed a negative growth throughout last year mainly because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the US market was not an exception.

The pandemic also squeezed the demand, followed by the shutdown of retail shops amid lockdown in the US, he explained.

The virus outbreak also changed the sales pattern that resulted in placing small quantity orders instead of bulk ones.

"Bangladesh could not take the advantage of or cope with such changes, especially in case of woven items, as the exporters had to import their fabrics. Local millers could meet only 30-35 per cent of the total requirement," he added.

When asked, Mahmud Hasan Khan, managing director of Rising Group that exports RMG products to the US, said the country, a large market for local woven items, had been hit hard by the pandemic.

People hardly went outside their homes due to lockdown, resulting in a reduction in demand for such items, he noted.

Mr Khan, also a former leader of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the situation was gradually improving in recent months compared to three to five months ago.

"Buyers are now making more queries, and fresh orders are coming."

He, however, opined that the rising trend in prices of raw materials was a challenge for grabbing the new orders.

Munni_fe@yahoo.com