Large foreign investments in camping equipment are giving Bangladesh a foothold beyond conventional garments, with the US, Canada and Europe emerging as major destinations.
Bangladesh is developing into a significant global production base for tents and outdoor equipment, creating a new technical-textile export category alongside its dominant ready-made garment industry.
Export Promotion Bureau data cited by Textile Today show Bangladesh earned $421 million from tent exports in FY2021/22, followed by $276 million in FY2022/23. Products are shipped to 43 countries, led by the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with Australia, France, Spain, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands among other markets.
Available international trade data, however, indicate Bangladesh is a major rather than the world’s largest tent exporter. China exported about $1.90 billion of synthetic-fibre tents in 2024, while US imports alone from Bangladesh reached about $95.3 million.
Foreign investment builds scale
South Korean-owned HKD International is one of the country’s largest producers, operating 11 lines with capacity of around 300,000 tents per month and exporting to 33 countries. The company has invested more than $35 million in additional tent, camping furniture and equipment capacity, while its existing Bangladesh operations represent around $100 million of investment.
Other investments include a $54 million Campvalley project, a $30.34 million facility from Taiwan-backed Natway Outdoor and a $12 million Qinda Outdoor plant producing tents, sleeping bags and bags.
A diversification opportunity
The attraction extends beyond leisure camping. Demand also comes from humanitarian relief, disaster response, military and institutional procurement, adventure tourism and outdoor sports.
For Bangladesh, the sector demonstrates how existing strengths in sewing, coated fabrics, accessories and labour-intensive assembly can be extended into higher-value technical products.
The next step is deeper localisation of performance fabrics, coatings, poles, technical components and testing capability. If that upstream ecosystem develops, tents and outdoor equipment could become a meaningful pillar of Bangladesh’s post-LDC export diversification rather than remaining a specialised manufacturing niche.
