The price of Bangladeshi-made garments has dropped significantly in the European market. In the first four months of this year (January-April), the average unit price of Bangladesh’s garment exports to the European Union (EU) has decreased by 10.45 percent. At the same time, the export volume also decreased by about 10 percent. As a result, the orders have not only decreased, but the garment exporters of the country have come under pressure to retain the market by selling products at low prices.
According to the latest data from Eurostat, the EU’s total apparel imports from January to April 2026 fell by 10.42 percent to 2,777 billion euros compared to the same period last year. During the same period, import volume decreased by 5.48 percent and average unit price decreased by 5.22 percent. That is, the market has contracted due to weak consumer demand and falling prices.
Among them, Bangladesh’s garment exports to the EU decreased by 19.33 percent from 7.54 billion euros to 6.09 billion euros. The average export price of clothing per kg during this period decreased to 13.96 euros, which was around 15.60 euros a year ago. A similar trend was observed in the single figures for April. In that month, Bangladesh’s export value decreased by 19.53 percent, export volume by 14.63 percent and unit price by 5.74 percent.
According to industry insiders, Bangladesh is forced to sell garments at lower prices due to weak demand in the global market, price cut pressure from international brands, rising cost of production and aggressive pricing policies of competing countries. Both export earnings and factory profits are under pressure.
When asked, Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of BGMEA and additional managing director of Denim Expert Limited, told Ajker newspaper that the situation in Bangladesh is more worrying than that of competing countries. Because China has been able to retain the market by lowering prices and increasing exports, Vietnam has retained income by exporting high-value products. But at the same time, Bangladesh has fallen behind in terms of price and volume of exports. According to him, this is a warning for the competitiveness of the country’s garment sector.
Fazle Shamim Ehsan, executive president of BKMEA, said that the pressure of buyers to reduce prices is not new. But the situation has become more difficult in the last few months. Inflation in Europe, shrinking consumer spending and heavy discounting strategies by big brands are having a direct impact on supplier countries. As a result, Bangladeshi exporters have to supply products at low prices to retain orders.
On the other hand, the picture of competing countries is different. China’s unit prices fell, but exports rose. Vietnam has been able to increase unit prices by about 7 percent by selling rather high-priced products. Prices were also relatively stable in Türkiye and Cambodia. That is, no other major exporter has witnessed such a large deterioration in both price and volume indicators at the same time as Bangladesh.
According to the report, China’s export value fell by only 4.70 percent between January and April. However, the country has been able to increase its exports by 3.25 percent. However, the unit price has decreased by 7.70 percent. According to analysts, China has competed by lowering prices to retain market share.
Vietnam’s export prices remained almost stable. The country’s exports have decreased by only 0.70 percent. Although the export volume decreased by 7.11 percent, the unit price increased by 6.90 percent. As a result, the country has been able to retain its income by exporting high value products.
In case of India, export value decreased by 12.10 percent, Turkey by 16.60 percent, Cambodia by 12.18 percent and Pakistan by 17.94 percent. However, the decline of these countries is not like Bangladesh. Somewhere the quantity has decreased while keeping the price, while elsewhere the quantity has increased but the price has decreased and the income has decreased.
According to economists and apparel sector analysts, after Bangladesh’s transition from the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2029, tariff preferences in the European market will gradually decrease. Therefore, if value addition, product diversification and production efficiency are not increased from now on, competition in the international market will become more difficult.
When asked to know, the research director of the private research organization Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Khandaker Golam Moazzem said, it will not be possible to survive in the international market in the future depending on low wages. There is no substitute for high value fashion products, man-made fiber clothing, developing own designs, increasing productivity and improving supply chain efficiency.
