The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has established a dedicated "Japan Desk" at its headquarters to attract more Japanese apparel buyers and further expand the country's share of Japan's apparel import market. BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said the desk was inaugurated on Wednesday at the BGMEA office in Uttara, the capital, with the Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh attending the unveiling ceremony.

Key Points

  • Bangladesh currently accounts for only 5.5%-5.6% of Japan's apparel imports, while Japan's annual apparel import market is worth nearly $25 billion.
  • In the first two months of FY2026-27 (July-August), Bangladesh's ready-made garment exports to Japan grew 1.33% year-on-year to $227.2 million.
  • In the previous fiscal year (FY2026), total apparel and textile exports to Japan stood at $1.134 billion, down 4.28% from $1.185 billion in FY2025.

Hasan Khan said Bangladesh wants to diversify its markets and is therefore targeting non-traditional markets such as Japan. "Japan is very promising for us. We are setting up the desk to facilitate Japanese buyers at the BGMEA building," he said at a recent event. Related statistics show that Bangladesh's apparel exports to Japan have surpassed the $1 billion mark in recent years. According to data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) and TexPro, Japan imports nearly $25 billion worth of apparel annually, and Bangladesh's share remains limited.

The latest data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) confirms this growth trend. From July to August of this fiscal year, Bangladesh's ready-made garment exports to Japan rose from $224.2 million in the same period last year to $227.2 million. In the previous fiscal year, Bangladesh's total apparel and textile exports to Japan were $1.134 billion, a slight decline of 4.28% from $1.185 billion in FY2025. EPB data shows that Bangladesh's ready-made garment exports to Japan first surpassed $1 billion in FY2018-19, reaching $1.091 billion that year. By category, Japan imported slightly more woven garments than knitwear from Bangladesh in FY2026—knitwear at about $560 million and woven garments at over $570 million.

Garment exporters noted that this institutional push is supported by government incentives and private-sector initiatives aimed at encouraging exporters to explore non-traditional markets such as Japan. For Bangladesh's apparel industry, as demand fluctuates in traditional markets in Europe and the US, Japan's nearly $25 billion import volume represents considerable room for incremental growth, and setting up the desk is an institutional move in its non-traditional market strategy.

Source: Bangladesh targets bigger share of Japan's apparel market · Originally published on 2026-09-28