Online Desk: The United States’ apparel imports from Bangladesh have declined by 21.77 percent during the January-August period of 2023. The US imported USD 5.18 billion worth of apparel from Bangladesh during the first eight months of 2023, compared to USD 6.62 billion during the same period in 2022, according to data published by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) under the US Department of Commerce.

Bangladesh is the third-largest apparel supplier to the United States. According to OTEXA data, the United States’ overall apparel import from the world has declined by 22.77 percent in January-August 2023 to USD 53.45 billion, from USD 69.21 billion in the same period of 2022.

All the top apparel imports sources of the US including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia have shown significant negative growth in terms of both value and volume. The US’ import from China, the largest apparel import source, has declined by 29.47 percent whereas their import from the second largest source, Vietnam, also dropped by 24.57 percent. Import from the other countries such as India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mexico, Honduras, Pakistan and South Korea also declined by 21.59 percent, 26.09 percent, 27.28 percent, 8.87 percent, 22.26 percent, 29.24 percent, and 11.74 percent respectively.