Bangladesh boasts an upbeat beginning of the fiscal year with merchandise exports recording a double-digit growth of about 25 per cent to US$ 4.77 billion in July, overwhelmingly banking on apparel as before.
As much-cherished export diversification makes little headway over the years, the export basket stays lopsided as before with a single product-readymade garments--making the most in earning in the first month of the financial year 2025-26.
Out of the total, RMG fetched US$3.96 billion, marking 24.67-percent growth.
The country had earned US$3.81 billion in July 2024, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released Monday.
Within the RMG segment, knitwear exports rose by 26.01 per cent to US$ 2.17 billion, while woven garments grew by 23.08 per cent to US$1.78 billion.
Asked about the export performance at the outset of the year-still under shadows of the political upheaval leading to regime change--Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Mahmud Hasan Khan said in July 2024 there were production and shipment disruptions due to the countrywide turbulent situation amid the mass uprising.
"Besides, there were some advanced shipments to meet the July-31st deadline and avoid possible enhanced tariffs by the Trump administration," he notes.
These factors pushed up the growth last July compared to that of July 2024, the BGMEA president explains, apprehending a slower growth in August, as tariff turmoil has yet to dissipate.
On July 7, US President Donald Trump officially notified Bangladesh of a flat 35-percent tariff to be imposed on all Bangladeshi exports which on August 01 was reduced to 20 per cent, following tradeoffs.
However, there was a clause that if the exporters could ship their products to the inland container depot by July 31, they would be charged old tariff rate, which sent exporters in scrambles to dispatch the products as early as possible.
Almost all major sectors, including agricultural products, frozen and live fishes, leather and leather goods, home textiles in the first month of FY'26, experienced positive growth.
Meantime, home textiles marked a 13.24-percent growth to $68.08 million in the first month of the current fiscal year of 2025-26.
Earnings from jute and jute-goods exports marked 4.92-percent growth to fetch US$ 55.44 million.
Earnings from leather and leather products registered 29.65-percent year-on-year growth, earning US$127.38 billion.
Agricultural products earned US$90.50 million, showing a growth of 12.86 per cent.
Frozen and live-fish exports recorded 42.71-percent growth to earn US$ 41.20 million in July'25, led by shrimp shipments that increased by 47.38 per cent to US$31.23 million.
Engineering products recorded 74.45-percent growth and earned US$ 58.23 million.
Plastics exports came to US$21.16 million in July last with a growth of 7.41 per cent.
Bangladesh earned US$48.28 billion in the last fiscal year, marking an 8.58-percent year-on-year growth in exports.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com