Garment exports to Turkey up 123.14 percent, five countries account for 56.58 percent of non-traditional market

Photo: Collected

Japan, Australia, India, Turkey and South Korea: nearly 57 percent of Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to non-traditional or new markets are concentrated in these top five countries.

Updated statistics from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) show that Bangladesh exported garments worth $1,025.2 million to these five countries in the July-September quarter of the current 2026-27 fiscal year. In the same period of the previous fiscal year the figure was $935.3 million, meaning exports rose by 9.62 percent in a year. During the period under review, total garment exports to all non-traditional markets combined stood at $1.81 billion.

In the July-September quarter of the current fiscal year, garments worth $343.65 million were exported to that country, which is 18.97 percent of total garment exports to non-traditional markets. These exports are 2.61 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Australia, second on the list, received garments worth $209.06 million in three months, 1.02 percent more than in the same period of the previous year.

India, in third place, received garments worth $204.96 million in the first three months of the current fiscal year. However, of the top five, exports fell only to India, by 5.37 percent compared with the same period last year.

Turkey tops in growth. Bangladesh’s garment exports to the country rose by 123.14 percent to $146.63 million, compared with $65.71 million in the same period of the previous year.

Garments worth $120.94 million were exported to South Korea in the July-September quarter, with growth of 8.81 percent.

Besides the overall three-month figures, exports show positive growth even when September alone is considered. In that month, garment exports to the top five countries rose by 16.77 percent to $345.2 million; in September of the previous year the figure was $295.63 million.

Turkey was also at the top in growth in September, where exports rose by 224.93 percent to $46.65 million. In addition, there was growth of 37.88 percent in South Korea and 5.19 percent in Japan. On the other hand, exports fell by 0.86 percent to India and by 0.14 percent to Australia this month.

Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and chief executive of Voice of Apparel, considers the rise in the share and growth of garment exports to non-traditional markets very positive. He said expanding into new markets is essential to reduce excessive dependence on traditional markets such as Europe and the United States.

Rubel said around 17.5 percent of the country’s total garment exports currently go to non-traditional markets; if this share can be increased, there will be scope to raise overall exports further.

According to him, among the non-traditional markets, Japan is one of Bangladesh’s most important export destinations, and there is scope to send more garments there. Although there is also potential to increase exports to the Indian market, it has not grown as expected. And with good purchasing power, there is also scope to expand exports to Australia.

Rubel noted that in the South Korean market, the FOB price is important along with product quality. In his view, these markets pay special attention not only to quantity but also to variety, quality and price. So greater focus must be given to new markets to increase exports of value-added and high-value garments.