Apparel export to the US sees 54% growth in January-July of 2022

Apparel export to the US saw a growth of 54.43% to $5.71 billion in the January-July period of the current calendar year, 2022, from $3.7 billion in the same period of 2021, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa).

In the same period, the overall US apparel imports reached $58.9 billion, noting a 39.06% year-on-year surge.

The data also showed that the single-month apparel export earnings from the US in July grew to $693.28 million, fetching a growth of 22.1% from $567.84 million in the same period last year.

However, the apparel export earnings of July from the US stand at the lowest since March of 2022.

According to OTEXA data, Bangladesh earned $1.03 billion in March (y-o-y up by 96.09%), $820.52 million in April (up by 74.34%), $815 million in May (up by 38.59%), $906 million in June (y-o-y up by 66.2%).

Manufacturers said that due to the ongoing geo-political crisis, energy crisis, and global inflation, the purchase orders have declined significantly, nearly 30% in the last few months.

China and Vietnam occupied the first and the second highest positions respectively in the US market as of June 2022.

US apparel imports from China in the January-July period of 2022 experienced a growth of 40.01% to $12.79 billion from $9.13 billion in the same period of 2021.

Vietnam exported apparel items worth $10.91 billion in January-July of 2022, fetching a growth of 35.3% from $8.7 billion in the same period of the past year.

India secured the fourth position by exporting apparel items worth $3.69 billion, registering a growth of 59.39% from $2.31 billion in the first seven months of 2022.

RMG imports of the US from Indonesia in the January-June of 2022 increased by 59.69% to $3.41 billion while the imports from Cambodia grew by 55.9% to $2.58 billion in the same period, which made them the fifth and sixth, with a market share of 5.52% and 4.4% respectively.

Manufacturers told the media that they are seeking new markets in Japan, India, Australia, and the Middle East to maintain their growth.