The growth of apparel shipments from Bangladesh to the European Union (EU) not only surpassed that of China, but also all other major suppliers in the world between January and August this year, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Eurostat, a directorate general of the European Commission based in Luxembourg, mainly provides statistical information to various institutions of the EU. Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU rose 45.26 per cent year-on-year to about $15.37 billion during the January-August period, when the trade bloc imported some $67.18 billion worth of clothing items from all over the globe.
As such, Bangladesh remains the second largest apparel import source for the EU with a roughly 23 per cent share.
China, the EU’s top apparel import source having 28 per cent share, shipped $18.85 billion worth of clothing items to the trade bloc during the same period, registering growth of 26.59 per cent year-on-year.
Turkey, the EU’s third largest sourcing destination for apparels, posted around 20 per cent growth compared to the same period the previous year. Similarly, shipments from India rose 28.85 per cent year-on-year to reach $3.56 billion. Other sourcing countries that registered high growth in apparel exports to the EU include Cambodia with 42.21 per cent, Pakistan with 31.34 per cent and Indonesia with 35.41 per cent.
The EU played a massive role in Bangladesh becoming the second largest garment exporter in the world over the past four-and-a-half decades. - ANI