Exports total $14.69b in 1st half of current fiscal

Twenty-five of the Bangladesh missions abroad have failed to achieve respective export targets for the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal (2013-14), mostly because of moderate growth of export and also slow growth over target. The key Bangladesh missions like Washington, London, Ottawa, Beijing and New Delhi failed to achieve their July-December export target while some other important missions – Berlin, Madrid, Paris and Rome – have been able to reach their target for the period. The overall export earnings for the July-December period of the current fiscal totaled US $ 14685.81 million against the strategic target of US $ 14246.55m having a growth of 3.08 percent over the strategic target. Of the 51 Bangladesh missions, 26 met their respective export target for the Jul-Dec period of the current fiscal (FY14), according to the latest statistics provided by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The 26 well-performing missions are Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, The Hague, Stockholm, Brussels, Tokyo, Ankara, Seoul, Cairo, Hanoi, Amman, Kuwait, Colombo, Doha, Tashkent, Manama, Thimpu, Beirut, Lisbon, Male, Mexico City, Tripoli, Brunei and Port Louis. Of the 25 missions that could not achieve their target for the first six months of the current fiscal, exports still marked a rise for 11 of them over the corresponding period of the last fiscal (2012-13). These missions are in Washington, London, Beijing, Canberra, Ottawa, Teheran, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Moscow, Kualalumpur and Muscat. However, 14 missions — New Delhi, Bangkok, Katmandu, Dubai, Riyadh, Singapore, Geneva, Pretoria, Islamabad, Manila, Nairobi, Brasilia, Yangon and Rabat – saw export decline during the July-December period of the current fiscal compared to the same period of the last fiscal (2012-13). The EPB figures revealed that out of the 17 missions having commercial wings, only five have achieved the export target set for them while 12 others could not achieve their target. The five missions with commercial wings, which achieved their respective export target, are in Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, Tokyo and Paris, according to UNB.