The country's single-month export earnings in April 2022 grew by over 51 per cent to US$4.73 billion year-on-year riding on the resilient rebound in apparel shipments.
Of the amount, Bangladesh fetched $3.93 billion from ready-made garment (RMG) exports last month, according to official data - revealed on Monday.
The single-month overall export earnings in this April were also 40.66 per cent higher than the target set for the month, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
April is the eighth consecutive month since last September when the country's single-month export earnings rose above the four-billion-dollar mark.
The country's overall exports fetched $43.34 billion during the July-April period of FY 22, recording a 35.14 per cent growth over $32.07 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
The export earnings also surpassed the target set for the period by 20.52 per cent, the EPB data also showed.
Of the total $43.34 billion export income during the period, RMG sector fetched the highest of $35.36 billion, showing about 36 per cent growth over last fiscal's mark.
A breakdown of the clothing sector performance shows that knitwear subsector earned $19.27 billion from exports in the first ten months of this fiscal, registering a 37.49 per cent growth.
Earnings from exports of woven garments amounted to $16.11 billion, up by 34.23 per cent. Home-textile exports recorded about 39.13 per cent growth to $1.33 billion.
When asked, both the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) leaders termed the overall performance positive.
They attributed the rise in exports to robust performance of the RMG sector, which navigated through the pandemic troubles with minimal disruptions and rebounded strongly in a changed global trade equation.
Explaining the reasons behind the growth, BKMEA Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan said Bangladesh is the first choice of global apparel buyers, who are looking beyond China.
"There is no denying the fact that Bangladesh is the most transparent apparel industry in the world, as anyone can see its compliance, environment, safety and other related issues in just a few clicks. Bangladesh also offers competitive prices."
Buyers are placing plenty of orders in Bangladesh, especially after the Covid pandemic, as their confidence has also increased.
The BKMEA leader, however, attributed high prices of raw materials, including yarn, fabric prices and other logistics costs, as one of the major reasons for such growth. Prices of knitted fabric sourced from the local market have also gone up significantly compared to imported woven fabric, he added.
Meanwhile, jute sector, which demonstrated a positive growth last fiscal, recorded a 6.68 per cent fall in the July-April period of FY 22 with $966.51 million in earnings, down from $1.03 billion.
Earnings from agricultural items, including vegetables, fruits and dry foods, witnessed a 26.29 per cent growth. The sector's aggregate earnings stood at $1.04 billion during the July-April period.
Earnings from pharmaceutical exports stood at $163.83 million, marking a 27.27 per cent growth.
Bangladesh earned $1.01 billion from leather and leather goods exports in the first ten months of this fiscal, registering a 32.97 per cent growth.
Export earnings from frozen and live fishes increased 17.45 per cent to $463.62 million during the same period.
According to the EPB, export of plastic products witnessed a 34 per cent growth to $128.77 million.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com
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