Exports record 24 percent rise in November over previous month

The rising export earnings in November suggest that one of the key economic indicators of Bangladesh is back on the right track, according to analysts and exporters.

The country's exports fetched about US$ 2.42 billion in November this year, registering a rise of 24 percent over October and nine percent more than last November.

According to the latest figures by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), exports amounted to $2.417 billion in November. The figure of October stood at $1.957 billion.

EPB statistics say, the five months from Jul to Nov of the 2014-15 fiscal recorded export earnings of $12.07 billion. Of which, the apparel sector contributed 81 percent.

The Jul-Nov period of the previous fiscal saw earnings of $11.96 billion.

Knitwear factory owners' platform Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BKMEA) President AKM Selim Osman told bdnews24.com that factories were closed for quite a few days on October due to the Eid and Durga Puja leading to a fall in export earnings that month.

"November's export earnings made up for that. We expect exports to rise in the remaining months of the fiscal."

Analysts see the drop in October as a regular phenomenon.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies' (BIDS) Research Director Zaid Bakht said: "Exports show a slow trend every year during the Sept-Oct dull season, which happened this year as well."

Export would rise during the rest of the fiscal if the country's political situation remains 'stable', he told bdnews24.com.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank's General Manager of Forex Reserve and Management wing Kazi Saidur Rahman said that the reserve would once again cross the US$ 22 billion mark within a few days due to the increasing export earnings.

The export target for the 2014-15 fiscal has been set at US$ 33.22 billion while the target for Jul-Nov was $12.73 billion.

In the five months of the current fiscal (Jul to Nov), the knitwear sector fetched an earnings of $5 billion, which is 2 percent higher compared to the same period of the last fiscal.

Woven garments registered earnings of $4.96 billion during the same period, less by 1.26 percent than the previous year.

Meanwhile, agriculture exports rose by 23.11 percent in Jul to Nov while the leather exports increased by 4.15 percent and exports from the jute sector saw a rise of 5 percent.