Staff Reporter :
The country’s export earnings grew by 14.72 per cent year on year in July, the first month of current fiscal year (2022-23) as exporters shipped goods worth $3.98 billion last.
The growth is 1.65 per cent higher than the monthly target, according to a data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) released on Tuesday. However, the export income of July decreased to $1 billion than that of June as the nation exported goods worth $4.91 billion in that time.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war brought about a large number of trade hurdles, triggering fears of a decline in Bangladesh’s export earnings. But Bangladesh has maintained an upward trend so far. The EPB data showed that July’s export earnings were mainly propelled by the ready-made garments industry, which typically contributes 84 per cent in the national export.
Readymade garment exports rise 16.61 percent to $3.37 billion in July, surpassing the $3.16 billion target set for the month.
The sector outstripped its target for the month by 6.45 per cent and the export is 3.75 per cent more than July 2020, the EPB data said. Woven has seen comparatively higher growth that is 23.11 per cent and knitwear grew by 11.80 per cent during the aforesaid time, while home-textile exports recorded over 3.89 per cent growth to $95.95 million. The jute sector, which demonstrated a negative growth in the last fiscal, recorded a 5.17 per cent growth in July with $63.91 million in earnings.
Earnings from agricultural items, including vegetables, fruits and dry foods, witnessed a 34.89 per cent fall. The sector’s aggregate earnings stood at $63.91 million during the period.
Leather and leather products witnessed over 9.82 per cent growth to $99.41 million last month against $90.52 million in earnings in July, 2021.
The country fetched $43.56 million from engineering products exports in July, 2022 which was $33.03 million in July last year. Earnings from pharmaceutical exports stood at $13.17 million while export earnings from frozen and live fish totaled $36.03 million during the same period. Export of plastic products witnessed over 44 per cent growth to bag $14.62 million, the EPB data said.
Manufacturers expressed concern as the buoyancy in demand ebbed due to the high inflation in Europe and the US, the major destinations for Bangladeshi products. Moreover, the exporters are also lagging due to a multi-faceted hike in production costs, the Ukraine-Russia war, energy and port issues and many more.
The export growth may slope to the right as there has been a decline in the placing orders, which might be touched 20 per cent to 30 per cent from the last year, they feared. Md Mohiuddin Rubel, Director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), “The growth is showing resilience of our industry, where global economy is passing through a difficult time, our economy is confronted with imported inflation, EURO is falling against US dollars and the cost of inputs is on the rise.”
“Yet the outlook remains wary of the economic slowdown in advanced economies,” he said.
