RMG exports to EU fall 16.43% in Jan-Jun

Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) exports to the European Union (EU) fell 16.43 percent year-on-year to €8.64 billion in the January-June period of 2026, according to Eurostat, the bloc’s statistical office.

During the six months, the volume of exports fell 8.22 percent year-on-year, while prices decreased 8.94 percent.

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In June, the volume of goods shipped to the EU from Bangladesh rose 6.53 percent compared with the same month of the previous year, but export value fell 5.31 percent, according to Eurostat data.

The EU’s apparel imports from the world also fell 9.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to €41.1 billion. The volume of imports fell 6.4 percent, while the average price decreased 3.53 percent.

During the same period, exports from Vietnam to the EU grew 0.36 percent to €2.06 billion. Interestingly, Vietnam shipped 11.52 percent less goods while raising prices by 13.43 percent.

Shipments from China, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia to the EU also fell during the period.

Bangladesh was the second-largest garment supplier to the EU in 2025, according to Eurostat data.

Earlier this month, apparel exports from Bangladesh to the US declined 5.75 percent year-on-year to $4.01 billion in the January-June period of this year, according to data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA).