Bangladesh’s key export sector, ready-made garments, has seen a significant slowdown in its two largest markets—the European Union and the United States—during early 2026. According to Eurostat, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU fell by 19.33 percent between January and April 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, dropping to 6.09 billion euros. The decline was sharper than that of other major suppliers such as China, Turkey, India, and Vietnam. In the US market, data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel showed a 17.21 percent year-on-year fall in April 2026, attributed by exporters to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Analysts noted that Bangladesh’s export earnings from the US totaled 2.98 billion dollars in the first four months of 2026, down 11.24 percent from a year earlier, with both unit prices and shipment volumes decreasing. The overall export income for fiscal year 2025–26 fell by 0.58 percent to 48 billion dollars, missing the government’s 55 billion target. Economists warned that reduced demand in key markets could pressure industrial output, employment, and foreign exchange earnings.

While global apparel imports have weakened, competitors like Vietnam and Cambodia recorded export growth to the US, intensifying Bangladesh’s challenge to maintain market share.