Bangladesh suffers steepest export decline among EU’s major garment suppliers

Bangladesh’s garment exports to the European Union fell nearly 12 percent in the first nine months of 2026, the steepest decline among suppliers, even as imports from China and Vietnam grew.

It shipped garments worth 13.48 billion euros to the EU between January and September, down 11.91 percent, Eurostat data show.

India recorded the next-biggest fall, at 10.69 percent, followed by Pakistan at 10.29 percent. Exports from Turkiye, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Cambodia declined. China’s rose 4.46 percent and Vietnam’s 4.33 percent.

The EU’s garment imports fell 2.46 percent to 70.72 billion euros. China’s exports were worth 10.77 billion euros more than Bangladesh’s.

Exporters say US tariffs are pushing China to focus on Europe.

Bangladesh’s exports to the US fell 4.57 percent to 6.14 billion dollars, according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparel. China’s fell 23.08 percent and India’s 25.19 percent, while Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia recorded increases.

Fazle Shamim Ehsan, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), cited weak European demand, Chinese marketing and orders shifting to India after its free-trade agreement with the EU.

“Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have caused a collapse in China’s garment exports to the United States. To make up for that, they are now putting all their strength into increasing exports to Europe,” he said.

Bangladesh’s EU earnings fell as volumes and prices declined. Export volume dropped 5.74 percent, while the average price per kilogram fell 6.54 percent to 13.70 euros. China’s volume rose 6.38 percent, at an average price of 19.69 euros per kg.

Former BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel said Bangladesh’s average price was nearly 30 percent below the EU’s overall garment import price. More than half the fall in export earnings came from lower prices.

Bangladesh’s share of EU garment imports slipped from 21.1 percent to 19.06 percent.