Bangladesh recently lost its rank as the second largest apparel exporter to Vietnam, according to the latest data released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Vietnam sold $29 billion worth of apparel merchandise to the world in 2020, while Bangladesh’s garment exports were valued at $28 billion, the World Trade Statistical Review revealed.

As a result, Bangladesh’s share in global garment exports slipped to 6.3 per cent last year from 6.8 per cent a year earlier. On the other hand, Vietnam’s share improved to 6.4 per cent in 2020 from 6.2 per cent in 2019.

Though garment shipments from both nations declined last year due to the pandemic, Bangladesh's fall was faster than Vietnam's.

China still was the largest exporter of apparel last year despite a 7 per cent year-on-year drop to $142 billion, or 31.6 of the global total.

“Trade began to recover as of mid-2020, but the effects of COVID-19 have varied significantly across countries and regions. In volume terms, which strip out the effects of fluctuating prices, Asia’s merchandise trade was down by only 0.5 per cent in 2020, compared to the global decline of 5.3 per cent,” WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in the report.

As importers began diverting orders from China at the onset of the pandemic early last year, the Southeast Asian nation quickly grabbed the opportunity with strong control on the outbreak in the country.

Bangladesh overtook Turkey as the second largest apparel exporter in 2010 with 4.2 per cent contribution to global garment exports. India was fourth on the list at that time with 3.9 percent share of the market while Vietnam had 2.9 per cent.

By Fibre2Fashion
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