During the Third Foreign Office Consultation held in Dhaka, a Malaysian trade delegation discussed various matters, including a potential trade agreement.
Malaysia imported apparel worth $48.943 million from Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2022, which accounted for 10.06 per cent of Malaysia’s total apparel imports valued at $486.711 million. China and Singapore were the first and second largest suppliers, with market shares of 29.99 per cent and 14.39 per cent, respectively, according to date obtained from Fibre2Fashion’s TexPro.
Bangladesh was the third-largest apparel supplier to Malaysia, with a 10 per cent market share in Q1.
Malaysia imports apparel and fabric from Bangladesh, and both countries are considering a free trade agreement.
In 2022, Malaysia imported apparel worth $48.943 million from Bangladesh, while fabric exports from Malaysia were $14.694 million in early 2023.
Last year, Malaysia imported apparel worth $2,051.032 million, with imports from Bangladesh valued at $234.673 million, accounting for 11.44 per cent of the total.
Malaysia exported fabric worth $14.694 million during January-March 2023, compared to $12.412 million in October-December 2022 and $13.272 million in January-March 2022. In 2022, fabric exports amounted to $53.527 million, $51.938 million in 2021, $36.560 million in 2020, and $42.722 million in 2019, as per TexPro.
Given that Bangladesh is one of the largest apparel exporters globally, the country requires raw materials for garment production. During the first quarter of this year, Bangladesh imported fabric worth $1,760.026 million. Malaysia accounted for a mere 0.83 per cent share, ranking seventh among fabric suppliers. There is significant potential for Malaysia to tap into this market in bilateral trade.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
