DHAKA: Propelled by the impressive performance of the readymade garment export sector, Bangladesh’s overall export earnings in October this year registered an astonishing growth of nearly 65 percent, the country’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) revealed on Monday.
According to the figures released by the EPB, the country shipped goods worth around $1.69 billion in October, the fourth month of the current fiscal year 2010-11 (July 2010-June 2011); around $273 million higher than that recorded in September of this year.
The figures also indicated that October’s surge follows on the heels of 26 percent increase witnessed in July when earning stood at $1. 82 billion, the highest exports figures recorded during a month since the country’s independence.
“We hope the trend in exports will continue, unless there is any internal or external shock particularly which hampers our garment exports,” EPB’s senior official Md. Zakir Hossain. He said exports in the first half of the current fiscal year would likely set new record as all indicators show sign of “robust growth” of major export items, such as woven and knitwear garments after their sluggish performances in the last fiscal year.
As garment exports from Bangladesh in the back drop of global economic recession nose-dived, the country’s export growth in the last 2009-10 fiscal year (July 2009-June 2010) dipped to 4.11 percent in annual terms. Garment exports have composed more than 75 percent of the country’s annual exports since the beginning of this decade. Any fall in their performances will cause a slide in overall national exports.
Garment shipments from Bangladesh staged an impressive comeback since the final month of the last fiscal year 2009-10 as top global garment buyers increased their orders to Bangladesh manufacturers, finding its products the cheapest in the world.
The EPB data showed knitwear and woven garments in July-October period this year grew more than 38 percent to 5.24 billion U.S. dollars with knitted items such as T-shirts growing 37.97 percent and woven items such as jeans 39.45 percent.
Apart from this, agri products, footwear, jute and jute goods, leather and leather goods, as well as frozen food items have also surpassed expectations, the EPB official said.
Together with other export items like textile fabrics, home textile such as bed sheets and towels, the EPB data indicates that the country’s total exports in July-October period this year crossed $6.72 billion, up 37.35 percent from the same period a year ago.
Bangladesh set the export target in the current 2010-11 fiscal year at $18.50 billion after the country fetched $16.20 billion in export in the last 2009-10 fiscal year.
