For July to September of this year, Bangladesh apparel exports to US, Canada have fallen. Moreover, export earnings from France, the Netherlands, and Japan have also declined. Exports to the US declined by 8.4 per cent and exports to the Canadian market fell by 13.8 per cent.

A drop in knit and woven garment exports to the US and Canada has contributed to the overall export decline in the North American market. In the first quarter of this fiscal, knit export earnings from the US and woven export earnings registered a drop of 5 per cent and 8.8 per cent from the previous year. Knit garment exports to the Canadian market showed a decline of 14.63 per cent while woven garment exports registered a fall of 14.38 per cent from the previous year.

Knit apparel exports to the Netherlands have fallen by 9 per cent and non-knit apparel exports have declined by 13.23 per cent. Despite an increase in knit exports, exports of woven garments to Japan have fallen by 4.44 per cent. Bangladesh garment exporters say the fall in export is due to a rise in wages, foreign buyers' preference for alternative countries due to agitations in Bangladesh and drop in orders for non-compliant factories.