UNB, Dhaka :
Export earnings from the USA, the largest export destination for Bangladesh goods, witnessed a 7.26 percent growth during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal (2013-14), mostly due to good performance of the RMG sector.
Bangladesh exports to USA totalled $ 3,723.49 million in the first eight months (July-Feb) of fiscal 2013-14 compared to $ 3,471.48 million during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2012-13). The amount represents 18.78 percent of the country’s total export earning during the period.
According to the statistics compiled recently by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), RMG export, including knitwear, to the US amounted to $ 3,428.37 million during the July-February period of the current fiscal compared to $ 3,186.03 million during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2012-13. The RMG items, including knitwear, witnessed a 7.61 percent growth in the US market.
The major exports to the US market during the period were woven garment ($ 2,636.17 million), knitwear ($ 792.20 million), frozen shrimp ($ 44.67 million), home textiles (77.16 million) and cap ($ 28.36 million).
During the period, around 32.04 percent of the country’s total woven garment exports entered the US market, followed by knitwear 10.01 percent and frozen shrimp 11.28 percent.
Bangladesh’s export earnings from the US in fiscal 2011-12 were impressive totalling $ 5,100.91 million, slightly down from $ 5,107.52 million in fiscal 2010-11. The export earnings in fiscal 2009-10, however, totalled $ 3,950.47 million, down from $ 4,052.00 million in 2008-09, mostly because of the global economic recession.
The 2009-10 fiscal marked the end of an ups-and-down period for Bangladesh exports to the US. From the robust $ 2.5 billion during the 2000-01 fiscal, exports had fallen below $ 2 billion by 2003-04.
Exports to the US rose steadily to cross the $ 3 billion mark in 2005-06, and peaked at nearly $ 3.6 billion during the 2007-08 fiscal.
