Bangladesh Stays on Top of Europe's Denim Market as August Exports Rise Nearly 13 Percent

Bangladesh has retained its position as the top supplier in the European Union's denim market. Although the value of exports fell somewhat in the first eight months of this year, exports rose in August, showing an encouraging trend.

In August, Bangladesh's denim exports to the EU rose 12.71 percent to 134.08 million euros. In the same month, the EU's overall denim imports rose 11.23 percent — meaning Bangladesh's growth was higher than the market average.

According to the available statistics, from January to August 2026 the EU countries imported denim worth a total of 2,956.21 million euros. In the same period last year the figure was 3,092.27 million euros.

On that count, the value of the EU's denim imports fell 4.40 percent year on year. But in August imports rose to 431.616 million euros, 11.23 percent more than the same month last year — a rise that signals a recovery in demand for denim in Europe.

Among supplier countries, Bangladesh still ranks first. In the first eight months, the EU imported denim worth 869.13 million euros from Bangladesh, accounting for 29.40 percent of the EU's total denim imports.

Pakistan, in second place, supplied 525.49 million euros' worth, and Turkey, in third place, 438.25 million euros. Bangladesh's lead among the top three therefore remains clear.

Yet despite holding the top spot, there is also a trend of falling behind. Compared with the same period last year, the value of Bangladesh's denim exports fell 5.85 percent, more than the overall market's decline of 4.40 percent. Bangladesh's market share also slipped from 29.85 percent last year to 29.40 percent.

The August picture, however, is the opposite. In that month Bangladesh's share of the EU's total denim imports stood at 31.17 percent, up from 30.76 percent in August last year. About 35 percent of the additional growth in the EU's August denim imports came from increased imports from Bangladesh.

Thanks to this August improvement, the fall in the value of Bangladesh's denim exports, which stood at 8.59 percent at the end of July, narrowed to 5.85 percent by the end of the eight months.

The market is also seeing major shifts by country. Imports from Turkey fell 21.08 percent, worth about 117 million euros — a drop responsible for a large part of the EU's overall decline. Imports from Morocco fell 14.48 percent, from Pakistan 7.88 percent, from Cambodia 6.47 percent and from Tunisia 6.44 percent.

On the other hand, denim imports from Egypt rose 31.46 percent, from China 17.70 percent and from Vietnam 45.38 percent. Bangladesh could not take the full opportunity left by Turkey — Egypt, China and Vietnam have also increased their supplies there.

Overall, although the top position remains intact, holding market share in the long term will require faster delivery, flexibility in design and production according to buyer demand, and greater capacity to fulfil orders. Keeping the August momentum and increasing market share is now the big challenge for Bangladesh's denim exporters.