Bangladesh's new fiscal year commences on a positive note in external trade with July merchandise shipments registering a double-digit growth of 15.26 per cent to US$4.59 billion.
In July 2022, the export earnings were worth US$3.98 billion, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released Wednesday.
The earnings in July of the current fiscal year 2023-24 also surpassed the annualized target for the fiscal by 2.50 per cent.
According to EPB data, the single-month earnings in June'23 were US$5.03 billion or 2.25 per cent higher than the earnings of June 2022.
Out of the total US$4.59 billion, readymade garments fetched US$ 3.95 billion, recording a growth of 17.43 per cent in July.
The sector's earnings exceeded the target set by 4.65 per cent.
Last month, the knitwear subsector of RMG earned US$ 2.26 billion, registering a growth of 22.24 per cent, while earnings from woven garments amounted to US$ 1.68 billion, up by 11.54 per cent.
Home textiles witnessed about 40.77-percent negative growth, with earnings amounting to US$ 56.83 million.
Asked about the export performance as per official reckonings, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Faruque Hassan hailed the growth as 'very positive'.
He noted that the recent statistics of the World Trade Organisation showed that the share of Bangladesh in the global apparel market increased to 7.90 per cent in 2022 from 6.40 percent in 2021.
He, however, said although the apparel exports from Bangladesh decreased in quantity, the shipments of high-value-added products have been on the increase and is reflected in the export data.
"Prices of garments did not increase in recent months rather are declining due to decrease in freight cost, raw materials," he said. But value-added items helped in getting better price especially from the non-traditional and new markets like Australia, Japan.
The BGMEA president also demanded simplification of value-added tax and bonded-warehouse facilities to sustain the growth in the coming months.
According to the EPB data, jute sector that experienced negative growth during the just-ended fiscal year now recorded a 2.75-per cent growth.
Exports of jute and jute goods stood at US$ 65.67 million from US$ 63.91 million in the same month of last year.
Earnings from agricultural items like vegetables, fruits, and dry foods also registered growth of about 14.53 per cent to US$ 72.58 million.
According to the official statistics, engineering-product shipments declined 16.41 per cent to US$ 36.41 million.
Export earnings from frozen and live fishes decreased by 18.4 per cent to US$ 29.40 million in the same period.
Pharmaceutical exports fetched US$ 17.15 million, registering a 30.22- percent growth.
Bangladesh received US$98.74 million from the export of leather and leather goods in July'23, registering a negative growth of 0.67 per cent.
Earnings from footwear other than leather items, however, grew by 14.41 per cent to US$ 40.18 million during the period.
The EPB also showed export of plastic products having witnessed a 14.64-percent growth to US$ 16.76 million.
Bangladesh bagged a record-high US$55.55-billion earning from merchandise export in the just-past fiscal year, riding on a double-digit growth for readymade garments, in a little relief amid forex crunch.
munni_fe@yahoo.com
