Upward revision of export target for FY '09 likely

FE Team | Published: September 27, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Naim-Ul-Karim
The government is expected to revise the country's export target upward for the current fiscal year at over 20 per cent from 16.50 per cent, commerce ministry officials said Friday.
They said the government, buoyant by a 71 per cent export growth in July, might set the target upward.
According to provisional statistics of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country shipped goods worth around US$1.54 billion in July, up by $73 million compared with that in June
Vice chairman of the EPB Shahab Ullah told the FE that the July shipments were nearly 71 per cent higher over the figures of July in the previous fiscal.
"We need to further review the export performance and set a new target following such a hefty growth in the first month of fiscal 2008-09. We could set the growth rate at more than 20 per cent over the performance of the last fiscal," a senior commerce ministry official said.
The export target was $14.50 billion in fiscal 2007-08 fiscal, which was 19.07 per cent higher over that of the fiscal 2006-07.
However, recording around 15.87 per cent growth over that in 2006-07 fiscal, the country fetched over $14.11 billion through export in 2007-08.
The EPB said knitwear and woven garments grew more than 16 per cent to $10.7 billion, with knit items such as T-shirts growing at 21.50 per cent and woven items such as jeans at 11 per cent.
Together with textile fabrics, home textile such as bed-sheets and terry towel, the country's total exports in garment items crossed more than $11 billions in the last fiscal.
The EPB, which is yet to release export data for July and August officially, said export in the first quarter of the current fiscal will also set a new record as all indicators show sign of 'impressive growth'.
The commerce ministry official said exports of major items like woven, knitwear, home textile, terry towel, frozen foods and footwear will continue to increase in the next few years despite external and domestic odds as higher labour cost has forced other countries, Bangladesh's competitors in the region, to shift focus to producing high valued products.
"This has paved the way for local manufacturers to boost exports, particularly in European and USA markets, in the coming months," he said.
But, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue Mustafizur Rahman differed with the view of the commerce ministry official saying: "We need to observe the situation as the global economy is on the verge of a recession."
Moreover, he said it is also to be seen how Bangladesh manufacturers perform in exporting goods after the quota benefit for China goes in January next.
Expressing similar view with the EPB vice chairman, he also said export performance will continue in the first half of the current fiscal, but it may slip in the later part of the year if developed countries fail to save their economies from affects of recession.
When asked, the commerce ministry official said the target for the current fiscal will be finalised after adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman returns home from foreign trip.