HANOI: Vietnam fills the vacuum with higher trade volume as China slows apparel export to the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) while Bangladesh failed to tap the full advantage. Some official data reveal that the Asian competitor has posted higher growth in its apparel trade on the two western markets in recent months. Chinese clothing exports to the EU and the US faced almost a double-digit negative growth during the first half of the current calendar year, according to the official statistics of the two major markets.
Bangladesh apparel exports to the US during the first seven months of 2016 registered 1.10 per cent growth while Vietnam’s 3.15 per cent growth over the same period of 2015. Vietnam fetched $6.13 billion from the US market in January-July period of 2016, while Bangladesh was lagging far behind its rising competitor with $3.23 billion, according to US official data of Otexa.
Though Vietnam’s export to the EU market is significantly lower than Bangladesh’s volume, its growth is higher. Shipments of apparel products, including knit and woven, from Bangladesh to the EU stood at $5.8 billion in January-April 2016 against $5.32 billion in the same period of last year, registering an 8.9 per cent growth.
Vietnam’s exports were worth $1.04 billion to EU during the first four months of this year, posting an 11.2 per cent growth over the same period of 2015. EU’s six or seven months’ data on clothing imports this year are not yet available. Industry-insiders said Bangladesh enjoys GSP in the EU while Vietnam does not, but the latter faces less tariff compared to Bangladesh on the US market.
Md Hatem, a former vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said efficiency is higher in Vietnam compared to Bangladesh. He was of the view that the former produced some value-added products though Bangladesh, India and Vietnam produce almost all the same products. China’s apparel shipments to the EU declined to $9.07 billion from $10.15 billion during the period under review as the country’s clothing export drooped by 10.57 per cent, according to data compiled by Texprocil India.
