Trade between Bangladesh and Japan has grown steadily over the past decade, mainly due to rising demand for competitively priced Bangladeshi garments. Bangladesh’s exports to Japan have more than tripled during this period, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Bangladesh Bank (BB).
In the past, Bangladesh’s exports to Japan were worth only a few hundred million dollars. Shipments of ready-made garments (RMG) began to grow rapidly in 2011, when Japan relaxed its rules of origin for knitwear imports from least developed countries (LDCs).
As an LDC, Bangladesh benefited from duty-free access for its knitwear in the Japanese market, helping boost exports.
Annual exports to Japan have exceeded $1 billion since fiscal year 2015-16 (FY16). Meanwhile, two-way trade between the countries crossed $3 billion in FY18.
Bangladesh’s exports to Japan grew by 20.74 percent in FY19 but declined over the next two fiscal years amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to EPB data, exports returned to pre-pandemic levels in FY22. They then rose sharply in FY23, reaching $1.9 billion. Two-way trade between Bangladesh and Japan increased to more than $3.31 billion in FY25, up from $3.12 billion in the previous fiscal year, the data showed.
Japan is now Bangladesh’s ninth-largest export destination globally and its second-largest in Asia. It is also an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for Bangladesh.
Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan Jun, immediate past president of the Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI), said Bangladesh has significant potential to increase exports to Japan as demand for Bangladeshi products is growing in the country.
He said Japan can become one of Bangladesh’s most promising export destinations, alongside Europe and the United States.