Bangladesh remains the European Union’s largest denim supplier, holding 29.40% of the bloc’s imports in January-August 2026, although its shipments fell 5.85% in value as the wider market shrank, Eurostat data compiled by Bangladesh Apparel Voice showed.
The EU imported 2,956.21 million euros of denim in the eight months, down 4.40% from 3,092.27 million euros a year earlier. Bangladesh shipped 869.13 million euros, well ahead of Pakistan at 525.49 million and Turkey at 438.25 million. Its share slipped from 29.85% a year earlier.
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August brought the first clear pickup. EU denim imports rose 11.23% to 430.16 million euros that month, while Bangladesh’s shipments climbed 12.71% to 134.08 million, lifting its monthly share to 31.17% from 30.76%. Bangladesh supplied about 35% of the EU’s August increase and narrowed its year-to-date decline from 8.59% through July.
Mohiuddin Rubel, founder and chief executive of Bangladesh Apparel Voice, said the lead looks secure for now and August suggests demand is returning. He cautioned that holding share will depend on matching nearer suppliers on speed and flexibility, where the bloc’s new orders are going.
Denim has fared better than Bangladesh’s wider apparel trade with the EU, where exports fell 11.67% to 11.93 billion euros over the same period. Bangladesh’s denim shipments to the EU reached $1.64 billion in 2025, up about 21% from a year earlier, according to Eurostat figures reported earlier this year. The country has about 50 denim mills with roughly $2.3 billion in investment, industry estimates also show.