Bangladesh clocked in the highest growth in apparel exports in 2016 among top eight clothing exporters of the world. The country’s share in the global export market was 6.36 per cent with a growth rate was 6.07 per cent in the past year, 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 5.1 per cent in 2014.

Bangladesh ranked the third largest clothing exporter after China and the European Union in the past year. China, the top exporter, registered negative growth of seven per cent in the past year and its market share declined significantly to 36.4 per cent down from 39.3 per cent in 2015.

Vietnam’s export too slowed down to five per cent in the past year while it registered double digit growth in 2015. Nevertheless, its share in the global clothing market increased to 5.54 per cent in 2016 from 4.90 per cent in 2015. Clothing exports from India declined two per cent in the last year while its share also marginally shrank to four per cent in 2016 from 4.10 per cent in 2015.

Among the top 10 exporters, Cambodia registered slightly higher growth (6.10 per cent) than Bangladesh in 2016 while the share of the country was only 1.42 per cent in the global market.