Business Desk :
Export earnings from the USA, one of Bangladesh’s key destinations, witnessed 2.64 percent growth in the first 10 months (July-April) of the last fiscal 2017-18 compared to the corresponding period of the fiscal 2016-17 due to good performance of readymade garments (RMG) sector.Bangladesh exports to the USA totaled US$ 4923.65 million in July-April (2017-18) period compared to US$ 4796.84 million in the corresponding period of the fiscal 2016-17. The amount represents 16.19 percent of the country’s total export earnings during the period.
According to the statistics of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the major exports to the US market during the July-April period were woven garment (US$ 3,254.31 million), knitwear (US$ 1133.40 million), home textiles (US$ 157.77 million) and cap (US$ 105.68 million). During the period, around 25.49 percent of the country’s total woven garment exports entered the US market, followed by knitwear (9.04 percent) and home textile (18.29 percent).
Despite political unrest, Bangladesh’s export earnings from the USA in fiscal 2014-15 were impressive with US$ 5.783 billion, up from US$ 5.583 billion in fiscal 2013-14.
Export earnings from the USA, however, witnessed a 6.01 percent fall in fiscal 2016-17 compared to the previous fiscal 2015-16 mostly due to the moderate performance of the RMG sector.
Bangladesh exports to the USA were US$ 5,846.64 million in fiscal 2016-17 compared to US$ 6,220.65 million during the previous fiscal 2015-16. The exports in fiscal 2012-13 were also impressive with US$ 5,419.60 million.