Bangladesh’s earnings from exports to the US grew 17.94 per cent in July compared to the corresponding month of the previous year mainly due to the good performance of the readymade garment sector. The US is the largest export destination for Bangladeshi products.

During the period, around 26.61 per cent of the country’s total woven garment exports entered the US market followed by knitwear at 9.81 per cent and home textiles at 15.15 per cent. Overall export earnings of Bangladesh in the last fiscal year 2016-17 totaled 34,835.09 million dollars against the strategic target of 37,000 million dollars, which is 5.85 per cent short of the strategic target.

Export earnings from the US, however, witnessed a 6.01 per cent fall during the last fiscal compared to 2015-16 mostly due to the moderate performance of the readymade garment sector. Bangladesh has a target of earning $50 billion from readymade garment exports by 2021. The readymade garment sector is a vital industrial sector of Bangladesh which is immensely contributing to the country’s export earnings, employment generation and value addition. Contributing approximately 80 per cent of the country’s total export earnings, Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter in the world, next to China.