Exports plunge 7.0pc pc in July
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Mashiur Rahaman
Export earnings in the first month of the current fiscal year plunged nearly seven per cent as demand for Bangladeshi products such as garments and frozen food was battered by the global economic recession.
The country exported merchandise worth US$ 1.44 billion in July, down by $105 million than the amount shipped during the same time last year, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said.
"Top 25 export items out of total 35 witnessed negative growth in July. This is alarming," an EPB official told the FE, expressing fear that the first month's shipment could signal further pains ahead.
The EPB said the country's top export item, knitwear, recorded a meager 1.77 per cent growth, a fall of nearly 15 per cent from the last 2008-9 fiscal year.
But export of other top products such as woven, frozen food, leather and leather goods, medicine, jute and home textile nose-dived as the global recession shows no major signs of recovery.
"Our export markets including the United States and the European Union have yet to see any turnaround in consumer spending. As a result, demand for our products remained below expectations," he said.
Frozen food fared the worst, slumping nearly 50 per cent, following squeeze in orders in the European countries. Experts said shrimp shipment declined after the thousands of farms in southwest districts were devastated by Cyclone Aila in May.
Export of woven garments slipped by 4.66 per cent to $521.78 million in July. The amount was $26 million less than the shipment in July 2008.
Exporters said July figures reflect a crisis in the country's manufacturing sector.
"Our orders have dropped significantly. We are also hit by ongoing power and gas crisis, which interrupt production in factories for hours every day," said an exporter.
The EPB figures also show that prices of manufactured products dropped nearly five per cent, the sharpest fall in more than a year, as western buyers cut their order prices to woo unwilling consumers back to the retail shops.
The country exported goods worth a record $1.54 billion in July last year, registering an impressive growth of over 71 per cent than the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The growth, however, cooled down in the ensuing months as the world was gripped by the worst recession in seven decades.
The country's exports surged by 10.3 per cent to $15.56 billion in the 2008-9 fiscal year that ended in June, the slowest growth in six years, reflecting a falling demand as a result of the global economic slump.
The earnings were 4.5 per cent below the government's target.
Export earnings in the first month of the current fiscal year plunged nearly seven per cent as demand for Bangladeshi products such as garments and frozen food was battered by the global economic recession.
The country exported merchandise worth US$ 1.44 billion in July, down by $105 million than the amount shipped during the same time last year, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said.
"Top 25 export items out of total 35 witnessed negative growth in July. This is alarming," an EPB official told the FE, expressing fear that the first month's shipment could signal further pains ahead.
The EPB said the country's top export item, knitwear, recorded a meager 1.77 per cent growth, a fall of nearly 15 per cent from the last 2008-9 fiscal year.
But export of other top products such as woven, frozen food, leather and leather goods, medicine, jute and home textile nose-dived as the global recession shows no major signs of recovery.
"Our export markets including the United States and the European Union have yet to see any turnaround in consumer spending. As a result, demand for our products remained below expectations," he said.
Frozen food fared the worst, slumping nearly 50 per cent, following squeeze in orders in the European countries. Experts said shrimp shipment declined after the thousands of farms in southwest districts were devastated by Cyclone Aila in May.
Export of woven garments slipped by 4.66 per cent to $521.78 million in July. The amount was $26 million less than the shipment in July 2008.
Exporters said July figures reflect a crisis in the country's manufacturing sector.
"Our orders have dropped significantly. We are also hit by ongoing power and gas crisis, which interrupt production in factories for hours every day," said an exporter.
The EPB figures also show that prices of manufactured products dropped nearly five per cent, the sharpest fall in more than a year, as western buyers cut their order prices to woo unwilling consumers back to the retail shops.
The country exported goods worth a record $1.54 billion in July last year, registering an impressive growth of over 71 per cent than the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The growth, however, cooled down in the ensuing months as the world was gripped by the worst recession in seven decades.
The country's exports surged by 10.3 per cent to $15.56 billion in the 2008-9 fiscal year that ended in June, the slowest growth in six years, reflecting a falling demand as a result of the global economic slump.
The earnings were 4.5 per cent below the government's target.