Bangladesh Garment Exports to EU Plunge 13.65% as China, Vietnam Gain Ground

Between January and July 2026, Bangladesh shipped garments worth 10.37 billion euros to the European Union, down 13.65% from 12.01 billion euros in the same period last year. The numbers come from Eurostat's updated trade data. No other major supplier fell harder. Turkey dropped 13.32%, India 12.24%, Pakistan 11.81%, Cambodia 6.69%. China grew 1.89% to 16.42 billion euros and Vietnam 3.92% to 2.55 billion euros.

The EU bought fewer garments overall: 51.61 billion euros across the first seven months, down 5.10%. Bangladesh's fall was more than twice the bloc's average. Former BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel put it plainly: "No other country's exports to the EU have fallen by as much. What is more concerning is that our decline is the highest."

Room, ranked

The Jan-Jul 2026 supplier table, as Eurostat reports it:

Behind them, Pakistan fell 11.81%, Sri Lanka 11.83%, Indonesia 12.12%, Morocco 6.72% and Cambodia 6.69%. Their Jan-Jul values were not published in the cited reports, only the percentage moves.

Softer July

The seven-month figure is a moderation, not the full slide. For January-June alone, Bangladesh's EU garment exports fell 16.43% to 8.64 billion euros, according to Fibre2Fashion's report of the Eurostat data. July alone therefore implied roughly 1.73 billion euros, against about 1.67 billion a year earlier: roughly flat, slightly up. The bleeding was concentrated in the first half; July stopped it, at least for one month.

Price story

In the first half of 2026, Bangladesh shipped 62.30 million kg of garments to the EU, down 8.22% from a year earlier. China shipped 59.62 million kg, down 2.57%. Bangladesh moved more volume and earned less: 13.88 euros per kg against China's 19.83. Bangladesh's average unit price fell nearly 9% over the period; China's fell 6.48%. Turkey, Vietnam and Cambodia raised their per-kg prices. The export slump is a price collapse on top of a volume decline, and Bangladesh is discounting into a market where its rivals are not.

Mechanism

An exporter quoted by bdnews24 traced the loss to two forces meeting head-on. China's aggressive push into the EU market arrived with state backing. On the home side, banks in poor shape withdrew factory support, and factories shut down or stopped exporting. Rising business costs then removed whatever room remained to undercut Chinese prices. "Taken together, we're falling behind," he said.

US is no refuge

OTEXA figures put Bangladesh's garment shipments to the US at $4 billion in the first half of 2026, down 5.75%. Vietnam grew 1.08%, Cambodia 12.32%, Indonesia 3.40% in the same market. Buyers are diversifying sourcing, not just cutting orders.

What is at stake

Garments account for more than 80% of Bangladesh's total export earnings. Around 60% of garment export earnings come from European markets, about 20% from the US. When the EU order book shrinks 13.65% while the two fastest-growing rivals take share, that is not a sector story. It is a current-account story.

The kill condition is stated so it can be checked: this reading stands unless Eurostat revises the Jan-Jul 2026 series in a way that changes the supplier ranking, a revision with no precedent at this scale. Watch the monthly Eurostat releases, not the commentary.