Export earnings from textiles exceed $1.24b in July
Sunday, 5 October 2008
Naim-Ul-Karim
The country's total export earnings from ready-made garment items, textile fabrics, terry towels and home textiles exceeded $1.24 billion in July this year, an all-time high monthly record.
Of the total, knitwear and woven garments together accounted for earnings over $ 1.19 billion in July, posting an impressive growth over the same period of the last fiscal year.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said knitwear and woven garments grew around 71.64 per cent to $1187.80 million, with knitted items growing 84.50 per cent and woven 58.55 per cent in July.
Such a robust growth in export of garments, however, powered the country's total exports earnings to over 1.54 billion in July, which is an all-time high monthly record, officials said on Saturday.
They said the July shipments are nearly 71.01 per cent more than the figures of July last year's and at least $7.0 million more than that of June, the previous highest exports recorded in a month.
Vice chairman of EPB Shahab Ullah had earlier told the FE that "Our export in
July this year is all time high."
He said exports in the first quarter of the current fiscal would set new record as all indicators show sign of "impressive growth" of major export items.
The officials said the country's exports boosted in July, as global buyers chose Bangladesh due to weak Taka and some external factors such as currency appreciation and wage hikes in China and India-- the country's main competitors in garment trade.
They said price hike of both primary and manufactured goods have also contributed to increased export earnings in July.
Prices of primary and manufactured goods increased by around 5.46 per cent while volume of exports also increased by over 46 per cent in July over that of the same period of last fiscal year.
The country exported goods worth $14.11 billion in the last fiscal against an ambitious target of $14.50 billion, which was 19 per cent more than the shipments of the 2006-07 fiscal year.
The country shipped goods worth around $2.0 billion more in 2007-8 fiscal than it did in the previous year, as knitwear and woven garments continued to rise while footwear and agri products crossed the targets.
President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez told the FE that garments sector has done far better than expected.
"If we get the right atmosphere and competitive advantages, our export will continue to grow in the next months," he said.
The EPB data shows garments aside, most of the major export items have fared well despite slowdown of economies in the European Union and the United States, two of the Bangladesh's main export destination.
Frozen food, the second largest export item, grew 39.47 per cent to $64.06 million in July.
Footwear has also maintained a hefty pace, recording a 75.61 per cent growth to $18.58 million in the first month of the current fiscal year.
Home textile, textile fabrics and terry towel exporters fetched $28.99 million, $7.66 million and $11.29 million respectively posting 55.19 per cent , 697.92 per cent and 34.40 per cent growth in July over the same period of the last fiscal year.
Pharmaceutical, raw jute, agro processed foods and tobacco exports also continued their hefty growth in July amid continued demand for the Bangladeshi goods among the expatriate communities.
However, export earnings from vegetables, leather and tea dropped during the period under review.
The country's total export earnings from ready-made garment items, textile fabrics, terry towels and home textiles exceeded $1.24 billion in July this year, an all-time high monthly record.
Of the total, knitwear and woven garments together accounted for earnings over $ 1.19 billion in July, posting an impressive growth over the same period of the last fiscal year.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said knitwear and woven garments grew around 71.64 per cent to $1187.80 million, with knitted items growing 84.50 per cent and woven 58.55 per cent in July.
Such a robust growth in export of garments, however, powered the country's total exports earnings to over 1.54 billion in July, which is an all-time high monthly record, officials said on Saturday.
They said the July shipments are nearly 71.01 per cent more than the figures of July last year's and at least $7.0 million more than that of June, the previous highest exports recorded in a month.
Vice chairman of EPB Shahab Ullah had earlier told the FE that "Our export in
July this year is all time high."
He said exports in the first quarter of the current fiscal would set new record as all indicators show sign of "impressive growth" of major export items.
The officials said the country's exports boosted in July, as global buyers chose Bangladesh due to weak Taka and some external factors such as currency appreciation and wage hikes in China and India-- the country's main competitors in garment trade.
They said price hike of both primary and manufactured goods have also contributed to increased export earnings in July.
Prices of primary and manufactured goods increased by around 5.46 per cent while volume of exports also increased by over 46 per cent in July over that of the same period of last fiscal year.
The country exported goods worth $14.11 billion in the last fiscal against an ambitious target of $14.50 billion, which was 19 per cent more than the shipments of the 2006-07 fiscal year.
The country shipped goods worth around $2.0 billion more in 2007-8 fiscal than it did in the previous year, as knitwear and woven garments continued to rise while footwear and agri products crossed the targets.
President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez told the FE that garments sector has done far better than expected.
"If we get the right atmosphere and competitive advantages, our export will continue to grow in the next months," he said.
The EPB data shows garments aside, most of the major export items have fared well despite slowdown of economies in the European Union and the United States, two of the Bangladesh's main export destination.
Frozen food, the second largest export item, grew 39.47 per cent to $64.06 million in July.
Footwear has also maintained a hefty pace, recording a 75.61 per cent growth to $18.58 million in the first month of the current fiscal year.
Home textile, textile fabrics and terry towel exporters fetched $28.99 million, $7.66 million and $11.29 million respectively posting 55.19 per cent , 697.92 per cent and 34.40 per cent growth in July over the same period of the last fiscal year.
Pharmaceutical, raw jute, agro processed foods and tobacco exports also continued their hefty growth in July amid continued demand for the Bangladeshi goods among the expatriate communities.
However, export earnings from vegetables, leather and tea dropped during the period under review.