Bangladesh earns record US $ 47.38 billion from apparel export in 2023

DHAKA : Bangladesh’s apparel exports achieved a remarkable milestone in the previous year, reaching an unprecedented high of nearly US $ 47 billion, surpassing the 2022 record by approximately 10.27 per cent.

Reports claimed this citing the figures from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) even as it added this accomplishment also contributed to the country’s overall exports for the fiscal year 2022-23, which soared to a new pinnacle of US $ 55.56 billion.

Garments constituted a significant portion, representing 84.58 per cent of the total export receipts for the year, compared to 81.82 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, according to EPB data.

Another noteworthy achievement was the record-breaking single-month apparel export earnings of US $ 4.67 billion in December 2022.

The 2023 apparel export earnings were composed of US $ 25.73 billion from knitwear and US $ 21.25 billion from woven garments, with respective year-on-year growth rates of 10.87 per cent and 9.56 per cent.

Including related products such as home textiles, specialized fabrics like silk and wool, headgear, and textile waste, the year-end export turnover reached US $ 49.24 billion, accounting for 88.35 per cent of the overall export earnings in fiscal 2022-23.

Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, described this achievement as significant, particularly amid global trade challenges and contraction.