That calculated dollar amount reflects a 16.9% increase compared to $47.1 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the total value of Bangladeshi exported goods shrank by -18.3% starting from $67.4 billion during 2022.
By value, Bangladesh’s biggest exports are highly concentrated. Clothing or accessories whether or not knitted or crocheted, generated roughly 85% of total exports from the densely populated Asian nation.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Bangladeshi taka depreciated by -25.9% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -15.9% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker local currency in Bangladesh makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Given Bangladesh’s population of 170.3 million people, its total $55 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $325 for every resident in the South Asian country. That dollar metric lags the average $375 per capita one year earlier in 2022.
Bangladesh’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Bangladeshi global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bangladesh.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$25.6 billion (46.5% of total exports)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $21.8 billion (39.6%)
- Footwear: $1.4 billion (2.5%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $1.2 billion (2.1%)
- Headgear: $639.1 million (1.2%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $634.3 million (1.2%)
- Leather/animal gut articles: $544.3 million (1%)
- Fish: $406.3 million (0.7%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $225 million (0.4%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $173 million (0.3%)
Bangladesh’s top 10 exports accounted for 95.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Aircraft and spacecraft represents the lone grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 326.2% from 2022 to 2023.
On the other hand, the leading decliner among Bangladesh’s top 10 export categories was paper yarn and woven fabric pulled down by a -31.7% year-over-year drop.
The listed product categories are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the four-digit HTS codes, Bangladesh’s most valuable exported products were knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (14.3%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits including trousers (14.1%), knitted or crocheted jerseys or pullovers (12.5%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (10.4%), knitted or crocheted women’s clothing (5.7%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s shirts (4.6%), knitted or crocheted men’s shirts (2.5%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s coats and jackets (2.4%), knitted or crocheted women’s underwear and pajamas (also 2.4%), and knitted or crocheted men’s suits including trousers (1.9%).
Products Generating Bangladesh’s Greatest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Bangladeshi product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$25.5 billion (Down by -20.1% since 2022)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $21.6 billion (Down by -14.2%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $1.1 billion (Down by -31.4%)
- Footwear: $1 billion (Down by -27.9%)
- Headgear: $611.1 million (Down by -14.4%)
- Leather/animal gut articles: $465.2 million (Down by -5.2%)
- Fish: $329.9 million (Down by -10.5%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $195.4 million (Down by -62.3%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $185.9 million (Down by -6.6%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $141.4 million (Down by -34.5%)
Bangladesh has highly positive net exports in the international trade of apparel, both clothing and accessories. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bangladesh’s strong competitive advantages under apparel-related product categories.
Products Causing Bangladesh’s Worst Trade Deficits
Overall Bangladesh incurred an estimated -US$9.4 billion trade deficit during 2023, shrinking by -54.9% from -$20.9 billion for 2022.
Below are exports from Bangladesh that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bangladesh’s goods trail Bangladeshi importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$10.8 billion (Down by -34.4% since 2022)
- Cotton: -$6.4 billion (Down by -29.2%)
- Machinery including computers: -$5.1 billion (Down by -25.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$3.8 billion (Down by -18.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$3.4 billion (Down by -19.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.11 billion (Down by -35.9%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$2.05 billion (Down by -20%)
- Manmade staple fibers: -$1.9 billion (Down by -18%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$1.73 billion (Down by -23%)
- Manmade filaments: -$1.68 billion (Down by -17.3%)
Bangladesh has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for petroleum oils (particularly refined oil, coal and petroleum gases) under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Bangladeshi Export Companies
Not one Bangladeshi corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list a number of exporters located in Bangladesh. Selected examples are shown below.
- Advanced Chemical Industries (pharmaceuticals, consumer brands, agribusiness)
- ASM Chemical Industries (industrial chemicals)
- Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (oil products)
- Beximco Pharma (pharmaceuticals)
- Dragon Group (clothing, notably sweaters)
- Kazi Farms Group (poultry)
- KDS Group (garments, textiles, steel)
- Petrobangla (oil, natural gas, minerals)
- Pragoti (automobiles)
- Walton (motorcycles)
In macroeconomic terms, Bangladesh’s total exported goods represent 3.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($1.475 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 3.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 4.7% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Bangladesh’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another critical economic indicator is a country’s unemployment rate. In 2023, the average unemployment rate for Bangladesh was 4.2%. That percentage represents a decline from an average 4.3% jobless rate one year earlier in 2022, according to Trading Economics.
Bangladesh’s capital city is Dhaka, formerly called Dacca and the country’s largest city in terms of population and geographic area.
See also Bangladesh’s Top 10 Imports, Top Exported Hats by Country, Top Exported Baby Clothing Sales, and Cotton Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on South Asia: Bangladesh. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Foreign Trade, United States Census Bureau. Accessed on July 17, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on July 17, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 17, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Bangladesh. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Category:Companies of Bangladesh. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Bangladesh. Accessed on July 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 17, 2024