Export earnings register downtrend in 7 months

FE Report | Published: February 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The country's export earnings during the first seven months of the current fiscal year of 2013-14 grew by 15.08 per cent to $17.43 billion. This reflected a downward trend over the growth in the last July-December period, according to official data.
The total export receipts during the July-December period of this fiscal were $ 15.15 billion during the July-December period of this fiscal, registering a 17 per cent growth over the corresponding period of the last fiscal, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) figures revealed.
According to the official data, the export earnings in the last seven months of the current fiscal also surpassed target by 3.04 per cent.
On the other hand, the single month earnings in January 2014 stood at $2.75 billion, showing a 7.81 per cent growth. The earning also surpassed the target by 2.83 per cent.
The government officials and the garment manufacturers have termed the growth as 'satisfactory' considering the overall situation including recent political turmoil.
Earnings from knit products stood at $6.99 billion marking a growth of 18.13 per cent which also surpassed the target by 8.89 per cent during the July-January period of fiscal year of 2013-14, according to the EPB data.
Woven products fetched $7.17 billion showing a growth of 17.32 per cent. The earnings also crossed the target by 2.91 per cent during the same period of the current fiscal, according to the data.
Export earnings from knit items stood at $1.25 billion in July, $848.25 million in August, $1.05 billion in September, $862.01 million in October, $877.61 million in November, $1.048 billion in December in 2013 and $1.045 billion in January 2014 respectively.
Similarly, woven items fetched $1.26 billion in July, $796.05 million in August, $985.26 million in September, $ 820.49 million in October, $889.35 million in November, $1.22 billion in December in 2013 and $1.19 billion in January 2014 respectively.
However, the apparel manufacturers said despite all the negative incidents, the sector's performance is good.
"Despite all the negative incidents especially the Tazreen fire and the Rana Plaza collapse, the sector's performance is fantastic," former Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) president Fazlul Hoque told the FE.
But there are some untold stories and sufferings that the export data never reveals, apparel makers said. They said cost of doing business has significantly been increased as many of the exporters have to meet the deadline through air shipment as they were not able to send their products through ships due to the political turmoil. Transportation cost has also gone up while many of them are facing discount, order cancellation or delayed shipments.
The recent political activities like strikes and blockades have disrupted the whole supply chain and it is likely to be reflected in the earnings of March or April next, they feared.
The EBP data also showed that export of jute and jute goods witnessed negative growth of 21.24 per cent during the July-January period of 2013-14.
Earnings from leather and leather goods, frozen food, pharmaceuticals and footwear grew by 45.38 per cent, 46.61 per cent, 25.95 per cent, 23.43 per cent and 33.21 per cent respectively during the period.