Export in 10 months falls short of target by 2.4pc
Naim-Ul-Karim | Wednesday, 11 June 2008
The country's export in the first ten months of the outgoing fiscal fell short of target by 2.4 per cent despite a hefty double digit growth over that of the same period of last fiscal, a senior official said Tuesday.
He said Bangladesh's export in July-April period of 2007-08 fiscal grew by 14.66 per cent over the same period of the last fiscal year as garments continued to show good performance.
In April alone, the country exported goods worth $1.49 billion, highest ever in a single month.
The country exported manufacturing goods including garments worth $ 11.65 billion in July-April period of the current fiscal, nearly $279 million higher than the figure of the same period last fiscal, the official said, requesting for anonymity.
The government's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said the possibility to achieve the export target set for the current fiscal is high as earnings from traditional and non-traditional sectors showed upward trend in May this year.
Vice Chairman of EPB, Shahab Ullah, told the FE on Tuesday "If the growth sustains, we expect the total exports receipts would exceed the target in this fiscal year."
Export in March clocked $1.224 billion, pushing up the first nine months' shipments to $10.16 billion, or up 12.43 per cent over the same time last year.
Exports growth until February was only 11.33 per cent.
Mr. Shahab Ullah said the EPB has already taken out efforts to boost export in the concluding two months of the outgoing fiscal and support exporters achieve their respective targets.
Asked about performance of the garments sector, Mr. Shahab Ullah said the EPB will release the complete export data for July-April period today (Wednesday).
The government set an export target of 14.50 billion dollars in the current 2007-08 fiscal, which is an increase of 19.07 per cent than the export performance of the previous fiscal.
Garments occupied more than 76 per cent of the country's $12.18 billion export trade last fiscal year ending June 2007.
Garment manufacturers and analysts attributed the robust growth in April like previous March to weak Taka, which made Bangladeshi products cheaper in the global market and decline in competition from China.
"External factors have also contributed to impressive growth in export in January-April period," said an EPB senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Earlier talking to the FE, Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), gave part of the credit to exporters for continued productivity and competitiveness.
"Yes, appreciation of Chinese currency has made its products costlier. China has also withdrawn export subsidies from some garment items. And both these factors have worked in favour of us," Hoque noted.
"But its true that we have managed to beat them in quality and prices. Our manufacturers have diversified their products. As a result, buyers have rushed to Bangladesh, not elsewhere in south-east Asia," he said.
He said Bangladesh's export in July-April period of 2007-08 fiscal grew by 14.66 per cent over the same period of the last fiscal year as garments continued to show good performance.
In April alone, the country exported goods worth $1.49 billion, highest ever in a single month.
The country exported manufacturing goods including garments worth $ 11.65 billion in July-April period of the current fiscal, nearly $279 million higher than the figure of the same period last fiscal, the official said, requesting for anonymity.
The government's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said the possibility to achieve the export target set for the current fiscal is high as earnings from traditional and non-traditional sectors showed upward trend in May this year.
Vice Chairman of EPB, Shahab Ullah, told the FE on Tuesday "If the growth sustains, we expect the total exports receipts would exceed the target in this fiscal year."
Export in March clocked $1.224 billion, pushing up the first nine months' shipments to $10.16 billion, or up 12.43 per cent over the same time last year.
Exports growth until February was only 11.33 per cent.
Mr. Shahab Ullah said the EPB has already taken out efforts to boost export in the concluding two months of the outgoing fiscal and support exporters achieve their respective targets.
Asked about performance of the garments sector, Mr. Shahab Ullah said the EPB will release the complete export data for July-April period today (Wednesday).
The government set an export target of 14.50 billion dollars in the current 2007-08 fiscal, which is an increase of 19.07 per cent than the export performance of the previous fiscal.
Garments occupied more than 76 per cent of the country's $12.18 billion export trade last fiscal year ending June 2007.
Garment manufacturers and analysts attributed the robust growth in April like previous March to weak Taka, which made Bangladeshi products cheaper in the global market and decline in competition from China.
"External factors have also contributed to impressive growth in export in January-April period," said an EPB senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Earlier talking to the FE, Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), gave part of the credit to exporters for continued productivity and competitiveness.
"Yes, appreciation of Chinese currency has made its products costlier. China has also withdrawn export subsidies from some garment items. And both these factors have worked in favour of us," Hoque noted.
"But its true that we have managed to beat them in quality and prices. Our manufacturers have diversified their products. As a result, buyers have rushed to Bangladesh, not elsewhere in south-east Asia," he said.