Merchandise-export earnings in the first quarter of the current fiscal year recorded a modest 5.04-percent growth despite production disruption in the major garment-industrial belts for curfews amid student movement and labour unrest.
Bangladesh's export earnings amounted to US$11.37 billion during the July-September period of the fiscal year 2024-25, according to provisional data prepared by people engaged with the procedures.
The country earned US$ 10.82 billion during the corresponding period of last fiscal of 2023-24.
A single-month export earnings in September 2024 grew by 6.78 per cent to US$3.51 billion, year on year, which was US$3.29 billion in the corresponding month of 2023.
The country's export earnings from readymade garments increased by 5.34 per cent to US$9.28 billion during July-September of FY'25 which was US$8.81 billion in the same period of FY'24, according to the provisional data.
Knitwear subsector fetched US$5.22 billion, marking a 5.72-percent growth, and the woven items' earnings stood at US$4.06 billion, recording a 4.85 -percent growth, during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
The central bank data, however, showed that the single-month export earnings in July 2024 grew by 2.9 per cent year on year to US$3.82 billion compared to the earnings of US$3.72 billion in the same month of 2023.
In July'24, knitwear and woven garments recorded 2.05-percent and 3.94-percent growth respectively, according to central bank data.
The single-month export -earning data for August 24, however, have yet to be made available on the Bangladesh Bank official page.
Readymade garment exporters, however, expressed doubt over the reported growth in export earnings as they find it "unrealistic" and not logical. They argue that the major foreign-currency earner has significantly been affected during the period with multiple factors like a student movement, the imposition of curfews and labour agitations.
When asked, Mohammad Hatem, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said the data was not 'realistic and logical'.
"During the last three months beginning from July, the sector has been facing huge production disruptions due to general holidays and curfews caused by student movement," he said.
Besides, floods also affected the supply chain while labour unrest continues to hamper the production in major industrial belts of Ashulia and Gazipur, he notes.
"In such a situation, not only my factories' exports but also others' declined," he said on a note of scepticism.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) that previously published export statistics on a monthly basis currently has halted the publication since last July following the emergence of discrepancies in the export data.
Though EPB has suspended publishing export data, it, however, continues to prepare statistics on shipments-based data from the National Board of Revenue and provides this data to the commerce ministry.
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