Despite 47 per cent decline in apparel exports to the country in April, Bangladeshi garment exporters are hopeful of Canada as an export destination. As per the Canada Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bangladesh (CanCam), Canada is one of the traditional markets for Bangladesh where the trade balance is heavily tilted towards the latter with products worth CAN $ 726 million going to Canada in 2019.

Bangladesh’s exports to Canada grew 14.53 per cent year-on-year to CAN $1.97 billion in 2019, riding on the trade privilege extended by the North American nation. Further, in 2018, Bangladesh’s shipments to Canada were worth CAN $ 1.72 billion, where more than 92 per cent were apparel items. However, Bangladesh’s exports declined by 46.63 per cent in April this year as confirmed by the official custom statistics of Canada. The country exported $715.15 million worth of apparels in April ’20 as compared to that of US $ 381.70 million in April last year.

The country also saw a drop of 33.17 per cent to clock just $68.92 million revenue from apparel exports to Canada in April this year, while the export value in the corresponding month of the prior year was $103.12 million.

Of all the exporting destinations, China remained the most affected country with over 54 per cent fall in its apparel exports shrunk to below $100 million. The Chinese apparel shipment to Canada valued at just $97.38 million in April this year as against $212.13 million worth of shipment in the same month of 2019.