Exports hit $14.11b in FY'08 as boom continues in garments
Naim-Ul-Karim | Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Bangladesh exports posted a 15.87 percent growth in the outgoing fiscal year to a robust US$14.11 billions, spurred by impressive show of garments and an all-time high monthly shipments in June, officials said Tuesday.
The country shipped goods worth around two billion dollars in 2007-8 fiscal than it did in the previous year, as knitwear and woven garments continued to belie expectations while footwear and agri products surpassed targets.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said the shipment of goods worth $1.47 billions in June - a 20.65 per cent growth over the same period last fiscal-- was also the highest ever recorded in a month.
"It's the biggest monthly export in the country's history," said director general of EPB Md. Khalilur Rahman.
"Exports made a good comeback in the last nine months due to significant recovery by the knitwear and woven garments. Besides, new exports such as agri products, footwear and frozen food have done well," he said.
The EPB said knitwear and woven garments-which comprise some 76 percent of country's total exports- grew around 16 per cent to $10.7 billions, with knitted items growing 21.50 per cent and woven 11 per cent.
Together with textile fabrics, home textile such as bedsheets and terry towel, the country's total exports in garment items crossed more than $11 billions.
Shipments fell by 5.37 per cent in the July-September first quarter as garments exports nose-dived due to protracted impact of the emergency and labour unrest in the garment factories.
Officials said export orders boomed in the later part, as global buyers rushed to 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.
"Despite some odds, garments have done far better than the expectations," president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said.
"For the first time garment exports have surpassed 10 billion dollars. If we get the right atmosphere and competitive advantages, our export can grow to $18 billions a year by 2011," he said.
Despite an impressive growth, the official data of EPB showed export earning fell short of target by 2.68 per cent.
The government set export target of 14.50 billion in the last fiscal year, which is an increase of 19.07 per cent than the export performance of the previous fiscal.
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 3.64 per cent to $534.07 millions, despite its growth was in the negative territory in the first six months of the fiscal.
Footwear has also maintained a hefty pace, recording a 24.76 per cent growth to $169.60 millions in the recent past fiscal.
Pharmaceuticals posted its biggest export in history, after it grew 53.44 per cent to $39.48 millions due to global marketing forays by the local drug companies. Most of the agricultural items such as raw jute, vegetables, tobacco, agro-processed food and tea grew between 14.41 per cent and 147.30 per cent, amid a massive demand for the Bangladeshi goods among the expatriate communities.
The country shipped goods worth around two billion dollars in 2007-8 fiscal than it did in the previous year, as knitwear and woven garments continued to belie expectations while footwear and agri products surpassed targets.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said the shipment of goods worth $1.47 billions in June - a 20.65 per cent growth over the same period last fiscal-- was also the highest ever recorded in a month.
"It's the biggest monthly export in the country's history," said director general of EPB Md. Khalilur Rahman.
"Exports made a good comeback in the last nine months due to significant recovery by the knitwear and woven garments. Besides, new exports such as agri products, footwear and frozen food have done well," he said.
The EPB said knitwear and woven garments-which comprise some 76 percent of country's total exports- grew around 16 per cent to $10.7 billions, with knitted items growing 21.50 per cent and woven 11 per cent.
Together with textile fabrics, home textile such as bedsheets and terry towel, the country's total exports in garment items crossed more than $11 billions.
Shipments fell by 5.37 per cent in the July-September first quarter as garments exports nose-dived due to protracted impact of the emergency and labour unrest in the garment factories.
Officials said export orders boomed in the later part, as global buyers rushed to 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.
"Despite some odds, garments have done far better than the expectations," president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said.
"For the first time garment exports have surpassed 10 billion dollars. If we get the right atmosphere and competitive advantages, our export can grow to $18 billions a year by 2011," he said.
Despite an impressive growth, the official data of EPB showed export earning fell short of target by 2.68 per cent.
The government set export target of 14.50 billion in the last fiscal year, which is an increase of 19.07 per cent than the export performance of the previous fiscal.
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 3.64 per cent to $534.07 millions, despite its growth was in the negative territory in the first six months of the fiscal.
Footwear has also maintained a hefty pace, recording a 24.76 per cent growth to $169.60 millions in the recent past fiscal.
Pharmaceuticals posted its biggest export in history, after it grew 53.44 per cent to $39.48 millions due to global marketing forays by the local drug companies. Most of the agricultural items such as raw jute, vegetables, tobacco, agro-processed food and tea grew between 14.41 per cent and 147.30 per cent, amid a massive demand for the Bangladeshi goods among the expatriate communities.