The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Canada grew by 28 per cent in the past year as both sides saw sound growths in their exports over the year. An up-to-date data provided by the Industry Canada – a Canadian source of market intelligence – shows that Bangladesh’s overall exports to Canada in 2006 grew by more 18 per cent to 479 million dollars while Canada’s exports to Bangladesh raised over 82 per cent to 145 million US dollars.

After China, Bangladesh is the second largest source of Canadian imports for readymade garments and textile products which account for more than 89 per cent of the total export earnings of Bangladesh from Canada. In 2006, Bangladeshi exporters made shipments of 434 million dollars worth finished garments items and their business grew over the year by nearly 19 per cent comparing to the thinner business growth in 2005.

In 2005 Bangladesh’s RMG exporters faced a depressing growth of less than 6 per cent in over the previous year to 366 million dollars as exporters said flooding of Chinese garments to Canadian market in the year narrowed the space for Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s RMG exporters earlier in 2004 saw a robust growth in Canadian market as Canada provided duty-free market access to Bangladeshi and other LDCs’ apparels. The exports of the Made in Bangladesh garments grew up to 347 million dollars from the 217 million dollars in 2003.

Canada is a lucrative market for the Bangladeshi RMG exporters but they have to struggle with Chinese garments exporters who share nearly half of the 6 billion dollars Canadian apparels market. Besides readymade garments, home-textiles, frozen foods and footwear are the major Bangladeshi items being exported to Canada while Bangladesh imports food grains, steel products and industrial equipments from the country.

Food grains share more than 70 per cent in Canadian exports to Bangladesh as of 2006’s data. The Canadian exporters of food items found tremendous business in Bangladesh in the year. Shipments of three major cereals – pulses, wheat and oil seeds – to Bangladesh were amounted at 102 million dollars with a growth of more than 187 per cent in 2006.

Bangladeshi importers said Canada, for decades, were exporting wheat to Bangladesh. But recently local importers were procuring substantial quantities of pulses and oil seeds from that country. They said the growing market for imported food items in Bangladesh was driving them towards Canada.