Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh’s export earnings have registered 54.82 per cent growth in March this year compared to the same month last year.
The country fetched $4.76 billion from merchandises exports in March, taking advantage of healthy shipment performances from the RMG, manufactured commodities, leather and leather products and specialised textiles.
The March export earnings were also 34.22 per cent higher than the strategic export target of $3.54 billion, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
Bangladesh earned $3.07 billion from exports in March 2021.
The EPB data also showed that Bangladesh’s export earnings during the July-March period of the current fiscal year (FY22) reached $38.60, registering a hefty growth of 33.41 per cent.
The country fetched $28.93 billion during the July-March period of the last fiscal year (FY21).
During the nine months, the RMG exports grew by 33.81 per cent to $31.42 billion.
Of the earnings, $17.11 billion came from knitwear shipments, while $14.30 billion from shipments of woven items, according to the EPB.
In the single month March country’s readymade garments shipment grew 60.15 per cent year-on-year to $3.9 billion.
Of the amount, over $2.05 billion came from knitwear shipments, while woven items fetched around $1.8 billion during this time, according to EPB data.
The entrepreneurs of the RMG sector said that the export growth is mainly for improving Covid-19 situation in USA and EU markets, major export destinations, and imposition of lockdown in several parts of China.
They, however, said the profit margin has been reduced significantly, despite the increasing of export for higher production cost.
Shams Mahmud, Managing Director of Shasha Denim Ltd, told The New Nation, “Bangladesh has become top RMG sourcing destination as political and economic turmoil are going on in the other sourcing countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar.”
“Besides, many purchase orders are being shifted to Bangladesh from Vietnam and China for imposition of lockdowns in several parts of the countries,” he added.
“On the other hand, backward linkage industries of Bangladesh have developed significantly in recent time for huge investment in the supporting sectors. As a result, RMG industry has gained buyers’ confidence for timely shipment,” he said.
Shahidullah Azim, Vice President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, “The export growth may continue till June as the factories are overwhelmed with the purchase orders.”
“But, the profit margin has been reduced significantly for higher production cost, although the export is growing first,” he said.
Besides, agricultural and leather and leather products exports also grew by 28.35 per cent and 30.95 per cent during the said period fetching $958.46 million and $896.8 million respectively.
Besides, fish, pharmaceuticals and plastic products also posted impressive growth during this period.
The data mentioned that all sectors, except jute and jute goods, had been performing well in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
Jute and jute goods suffered a negative growth of 6.97 per cent during this July-March period.
