Bangladesh ranks second in garment exports to the US

The apparel market in the United States has been undergoing major changes recently. The tariff war between China and the United States has had a major impact on the US market. Due to the pressure of additional tariffs, China's apparel exports to the US market have now decreased significantly. Taking advantage of this huge decline in China, Bangladesh has taken the second top spot in apparel supply.

This is one of the biggest achievements for Bangladesh's ready-made garment sector, despite the ongoing global economic downturn, according to the latest statistics from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEA).

Although Bangladesh's ready-made garment exports to the US market fell by 8.8 percent in the first five months of this year (January-May 2026) compared to the previous year, the decline was nearly 43 percent in the case of its main competitor, China. This has enabled Bangladesh to easily surpass China and retain the second place.

Apparel entrepreneurs say that due to geopolitical conflicts and the impact of tariffs, US buyers are now largely turning away from China. As a result, US buyers are focusing on finding new sources. South and Southeast Asian countries, of which Bangladesh is one, are directly benefiting from the loss of this market to China. According to official data from Otexa, Bangladesh's garment export revenue to the United States stood at 3.25 billion US dollars in the first five months of 2026 (January-May). Last year, i.e. in the same period of 2025, this revenue amounted to 3.53 billion US dollars.

Accordingly, Bangladesh's garment exports to the US market have decreased by 8.08 percent over the year. In terms of the quantity of garments exported, Bangladesh's exports have also decreased by 6.21 percent compared to last year. However, the performance of the month of May alone was quite promising for Bangladesh. As a single month, Bangladesh exported garments worth $582 million in May 2026. This is 6.04 percent more than the $548.85 million in May 2025.

According to Otexa statistics, China's garment exports to the US market have fallen sharply from January to May 2026. In these five months, China's export revenue has fallen by 42.75 percent or almost 43 percent to just $2.80 billion. In the same period last year, China's revenue was $4.89 billion. China has also faced a major decline of 29.67 percent in terms of clothing volume. At the same time, the price per unit of Chinese clothing in the US market has decreased by 18.59 percent. Due to this historic collapse in China, Bangladesh has been able to retain second place in the US market with exports of $3.25 billion against $2.80 billion.

During this period, the US's overall global apparel imports fell by 9.25 percent to $28.77 billion. Despite this sluggish market, Vietnam and Cambodia have strengthened their positions considerably. Vietnam maintained its top spot in the US market by exporting $6.39 billion worth of apparel. Their growth rate was 1.46 percent. On the other hand, Cambodia exported $1.73 billion worth of apparel with a growth rate of 14.90 percent. In addition, Indonesia's exports increased by 5.49 percent.

BPAMEA Director and Kazi Printing and Accessories Limited Managing Director Kazi Fahad said, 'Bangladesh's exports have decreased by about 8 percent, while China's exports have decreased by about 43 percent. This reality has opened the door to new possibilities for us. Now is the time to increase production capacity, diversify products, innovate and ensure faster service to gain more trust from global buyers.'

He said, "The contribution of the garment accessories and packaging industry is very important behind this success. BPAMEA member companies are further strengthening the country's export capacity by supplying world-class accessories and packaging products. If the government, entrepreneurs and the industry sector work together, we will not only maintain the second position, but will also be able to make a greater contribution to the country's economy by further increasing Bangladesh's share in the global market."