All textile exports fetch $36.85 billion in 11 months
TCF Post Report
The total garment export earnings for May came in at $3.919 billion. While this represents a sharp 8.3% drop compared to May of last year (YoY), it is actually a 24.77% month-on-month (MoM) increase compared to April 2026.
Here is how the two major sub-sectors performed during the month:
Segment | May Earnings | YoY Growth
Knitwear | $2.162 billion | -8.91%
Woven Garments | $1.756 billion | -7.53%
Total RMG | $3.919 billion | -8.30%
Why the sudden drop in May?
While some analysts attribute the MoM rise to simple seasonality and worry deeply about the YoY drop, industry insiders offer a practical explanation. A senior official from the Noman Group, a leading exporter of apparel and textiles, points out that the extended Eid al-Adha holiday in late May effectively halted factory production and squeezed shipping windows. “The hope is that the shipments delayed by the holidays may spill over and boost June’s numbers,” he added.
Contextualizing the Volatility
To understand why these numbers are swinging so drastically, it helps to look at the timeline leading up to May:
September – March: RMG exports suffered a painful seven-month streak of negative YoY growth.
April: The industry saw a massive 31.21% YoY rebound, bringing in $3.14 billion.
May: Growth tumbled back into negative territory at -8.3% YoY, though the total volume ($3.919 billion) was higher than April’s. Analyzing the current fiscal year’s performance.
So, with only one month left in the current fiscal year (July 2025 – June 2026), the cumulative data gives a somewhat clear picture of where the industry stands compared to last year.
11-Month Total (July–May): $36.56 billion
Current Fiscal Year Growth: -3.41% YoY
Last fiscal year’s performance
12-Month Total: $39.35 billion
12-Month Growth: 8.84% YoY
Sub-sectoral breakdown: In the last fiscal year, knitwear export earnings grew by 9.73% to $21.16b, while Woven Garments grew by 7.82% to $18.19b.
Despite global economic headwinds, the sector showed remarkable resilience in the last fiscal year, driven by increased orders from the US and sustained demand across European markets. As usual, RMG accounted for the lion’s share of Bangladesh’s $48.28 billion total national exports in the last fiscal year.
All textile exports
The updated statistics show that exports of home textiles (bed linen and others) amounted to $853 million in 11 months, with YoY growth at 3.48%. In May, home textile shipments fetched $84 million with growth at 3.67%.
Specialized textiles (terry towels, knitted and woven fabrics, and others) fetched $357 million with a negative growth of 1.18%.
Cap and headgear exports fetched $323 million with a negative growth of 5.43%.
So, all textile exports amounted to $36.85 billion, or over 84% of the nation’s total export earnings at $43.80 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year.
