The European Union is Bangladesh’s largest export market for ready-made garments. But imports from the South Asian country tumbled 19.26 percent in the first quarter of 2026, the steepest fall among the bloc’s top ten suppliers, according to Eurostat data.

EU imports of Bangladeshi apparel fell to €4.59 billion in the January to March period from €5.68 billion a year earlier. The drop far exceeded the 11.62 percent contraction in the EU’s overall garment imports, which slid to €21.09 billion from €23.86 billion.

Among other leading suppliers, shipments from China fell 7.9 percent, Turkey 18.92 percent, Pakistan 16.67 percent, Cambodia 15.88 percent, and India 10.15 percent. Vietnam recorded the shallowest decline, at 2.12 percent.

In volume terms, the EU’s apparel imports from Bangladesh fell 8.32 percent in the first quarter. The bloc imported 362 million kilograms of clothing from Bangladesh in January–March 2025. That figure dropped to 331.9 million kilograms over the same period this year.

The average unit price of apparel imported from Bangladesh also declined over the period. In the first quarter of 2025, the EU paid an average of €15.71 per kilogram for clothing imported from Bangladesh. That fell to €13.84 per kilogram in the same period this year, a year-on-year decline of about 11.9 percent.

Bangladesh’s share of the EU apparel market consequently narrowed to 21.77 percent, from 23.84 percent in the first quarter of 2025. It, however, remained the second-largest supplier, behind China.

The March figures reflected the same trend: imports from Bangladesh fell 19.24 percent year on year to €1.7 billion.

EU’s import volumes also fell 10.09 percent to 121.1 million kilograms in March from 134.7 million kilograms a year earlier. The average unit price also declined, dropping to €14.10 per kilogram from €15.70. That marked a year-on-year fall of 10.17 percent in the unit value of imports.

The data show that EU imports from Bangladesh are falling faster than the bloc’s overall garment imports, with the sharper decline in value relative to volume indicating pressure on unit prices.

Garment industry officials attribute the downturn to global trade uncertainty, armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions, US tariff policy, high interest rates, and softening international demand. Order flows in global markets have weakened compared with earlier periods. The demand contraction in the EU is hitting most supplier countries, they said, but heightened competition in a shrinking market has made competitiveness increasingly important.

Rising production costs, investments in sustainable manufacturing, increasing compliance demands from global brands, and domestic structural challenges are all squeezing Bangladesh’s competitive position, industry insiders say. They also warn that uncertainty over post-LDC graduation trade benefits may affect long-term sourcing plans of international buyers.

Whether the current conditions are temporary or signal a longer-term shift will become clearer over the next few quarters, they said. Until global conditions improve, preserving production capacity and competitive standing will remain a major challenge for the industry.

“To sustain international competitiveness over the long term, Bangladesh must significantly expand the breadth of its backward linkage industries,” Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), told Bonik Barta.

He noted that the United Kingdom recently granted Bangladesh duty-free market access after LDC graduation while retaining the single-stage transformation rule for garments. “This helps preserve competitive parity with India even after a future FTA with the UK. Bangladesh must press the EU for similar terms to maintain parity,” he said, adding that effective pricing policies are needed to prevent a destructive competition domestically through price-cutting.

According to Eurostat data, Bangladesh accounted for 21.44 percent of the EU’s total garment imports in March this year, retaining its position as the bloc’s second-largest supplier after China.