Economic Reporter :
The country’s export earnings have shown signs of a rebound, posting 0.76 percent year-on-year growth in November amid the vaccine hopes.
The export earnings of over $3.07 billion in the last month, however, missed the target by 8.2 percent, according to data published by the Export Promotion Bureau on Thursday.
In the first five months of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh exported goods worth over $15.92 billion with an around 1 percent year-on-year growth.
The exports plummeted over 4 percent in October this year compared to the corresponding period a year ago, as all major export-oriented sectors but jute saw their earnings decline in the month.
According to the latest data released by the Export Promotion Bureau, the country received $2.95 billion in export earnings last month, which was $3.07 billion in the same month of the previous year. The October export earnings were around 6 percent less compared to the government’s target set for the month.
The top foreign exchange earner – readymade garment (RMG) – witnessed a 7.8 percent year-on-year drop in exports in October. Among the other major export sectors, leather and agriculture saw their exports fall by over 7 percent and 8 percent respectively.
As much as 45 percent of the earning in the July-November period came from knitwear export while the contribution of overall readymade garment export, including woven and knitwear, was 81 percent.
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, however, thinks the pandemic crisis will continue to affect exports for several more months.
“We had thought that we would be able to make a total turnaround ahead of Christmas, but it won’t be possible now. The second wave (of coronavirus infections) has thrown all our calculations out of the window. Several countries have gone back into lockdown,” he said.
Bangladesh export earnings drop as Covid-19 bites back at Europe and US. Bangladesh garment exporters hope for a rebound after falling behind peers in Vietnam.
He said the Western buyers are not purchasing or placing new orders much like they did in July, August and September.
“We are exporting cheap products now. The buyers are purchasing only the extremely necessary products. That’s why knitwear export has increased but the sale of woven products has dropped,” Parvez added.
Mohammad Hatem, vice-president at the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said knitwear export helped the overall export grow in November.
“It appears that the coronavirus vaccine will come quickly. Everyone is hoping that the situation will normalise. We also hope so,” he said.
Analyst Ahsan H Mansur thinks merely posting a growth is a “big thing” for Bangladesh now amid the raging pandemic.
The country’s export earnings have shown signs of a rebound, posting 0.76 percent year-on-year growth in November amid the vaccine hopes.
The export earnings of over $3.07 billion in the last month, however, missed the target by 8.2 percent, according to data published by the Export Promotion Bureau on Thursday.
In the first five months of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh exported goods worth over $15.92 billion with an around 1 percent year-on-year growth.
The exports plummeted over 4 percent in October this year compared to the corresponding period a year ago, as all major export-oriented sectors but jute saw their earnings decline in the month.
According to the latest data released by the Export Promotion Bureau, the country received $2.95 billion in export earnings last month, which was $3.07 billion in the same month of the previous year. The October export earnings were around 6 percent less compared to the government’s target set for the month.
The top foreign exchange earner – readymade garment (RMG) – witnessed a 7.8 percent year-on-year drop in exports in October. Among the other major export sectors, leather and agriculture saw their exports fall by over 7 percent and 8 percent respectively.
As much as 45 percent of the earning in the July-November period came from knitwear export while the contribution of overall readymade garment export, including woven and knitwear, was 81 percent.
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, however, thinks the pandemic crisis will continue to affect exports for several more months.
“We had thought that we would be able to make a total turnaround ahead of Christmas, but it won’t be possible now. The second wave (of coronavirus infections) has thrown all our calculations out of the window. Several countries have gone back into lockdown,” he said.
Bangladesh export earnings drop as Covid-19 bites back at Europe and US. Bangladesh garment exporters hope for a rebound after falling behind peers in Vietnam.
He said the Western buyers are not purchasing or placing new orders much like they did in July, August and September.
“We are exporting cheap products now. The buyers are purchasing only the extremely necessary products. That’s why knitwear export has increased but the sale of woven products has dropped,” Parvez added.
Mohammad Hatem, vice-president at the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said knitwear export helped the overall export grow in November.
“It appears that the coronavirus vaccine will come quickly. Everyone is hoping that the situation will normalise. We also hope so,” he said.
Analyst Ahsan H Mansur thinks merely posting a growth is a “big thing” for Bangladesh now amid the raging pandemic.
