Bangladesh’s exports rose 10.4 per cent in January from a year earlier to $3.18 billion, driven by stronger sales of garments. Exports for July to January period, in 2015-16 financial year rose 8.3 per cent from a year earlier to $19.27 billion. Garment sales, comprising knitwear and woven items, totaled $15.76 billion in July to January, up nine per cent from a year earlier.

Garments are a key foreign exchange earner for the South Asian nation, whose low wages and trade deals with western markets have helped make it the world’s second largest apparel exporter after China. The top export destinations of Bangladesh are the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Spain. The top exports of Bangladesh are non-knit men’s suits, knit T-shirts, knit sweaters, non-knit women’s suits and non-knit men’s shirts.

Exports account for about 6.2 per cent of total Bangladeshi economic output. The country’s top ten exports accounted for 96 per cent of the overall value of its global shipments. Clothing shipments alone represent 84.7 per cent of Bangladeshi exports. Bangladesh’s flagship clothing exports appreciated by 95.2 per cent for non-knit or crochet articles and by 84.3 per cent for knit or crochet clothing.