Play store
Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) exports to the United States recorded their highest-ever monthly growth in August, rising 25.65 per cent year on year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
Bangladesh exported garments worth more than $817 million to the US in August of fiscal year 2026-27, compared with $650.34 million in the same month a year earlier.
During July-August, RMG exports to the US reached $1.61 billion, up 11.42 per cent from the corresponding period of FY2025-26. The monthly average during the first two months stood at $806.46 million, compared with $645.38 million in the previous fiscal year.
The sharp increase in August drove much of the overall growth, with exporters attributing the rise partly to increased orders for winter apparel.
Mohammad Fazlul Hoque, an apparel entrepreneur and FBCCI administrator, told BSS that August was an important period for placing winter garment orders in the US.
He said Bangladeshi exporters had continued to remain competitive despite global economic challenges and were receiving stronger orders for the coming months.
Hoque also stressed the need to diversify products and increase value addition to expand Bangladesh’s share of the US market.
Fazle Shamim Ehsan, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said global market conditions had created opportunities for Bangladesh to increase shipments to the US.
He said those opportunities could be better utilised if exporters received adequate energy supplies and policy continuity.
Mahmududdin Rubel, CEO of Bangladesh Apparel Voice, described the current growth in US-bound garment exports as encouraging. He said that if the pace continued over the next 12 months, Bangladesh’s RMG export earnings from the US could reach $9 billion in FY2026-27.
The US is Bangladesh’s largest single export market for garments. In FY2025-26, Bangladesh earned about $9.04 billion from total merchandise exports to the US, up 4.09 per cent year on year. RMG accounted for $7.74 billion, while non-garment products contributed around $1.30 billion.
Bangladesh’s non-RMG exports to the US include leather and leather goods, jute products, home textiles, agricultural and processed food products, plastics, pharmaceuticals, footwear and light engineering products.
The Commerce Ministry has identified pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods, agricultural products, light engineering and information and communication technology as priority sectors for expanding trade with the US.
Industry leaders said greater product diversification, higher value addition, improved quality and reliable energy supplies would be important for sustaining export growth and expanding Bangladesh’s presence in the US market.
Bangladesh earned around $48 billion from total merchandise exports in FY2025-26, with the US accounting for about $9.04 billion.
