Bangladesh exports rise 13% to $27.56 billion in July-Feb

Bangladesh’s export growth has extended to the eighth straight month in the current fiscal year.

Exports grew almost 13 percent to $27.56 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal (July-February) over the same period a year earlier, riding on higher garment shipments, according to data released by the Export Promotion Bureau on Thursday.

This figure is nearly 8 percent more than the target of $25.56 billion set for the period.

Analysts are hoping export earnings will increase more in the coming months since a stable political environment is prevailing after the general election.

“Like other economic indicators, export performance remained positive,” Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies or BIDS Researcher Zaid Bakht told bdnews24.com.

“Noticeably, the pace of export earnings picked up from the very beginning of the current fiscal year compared with the last fiscal year.

“The export growth between 13 and 14 percent looks good. Sheikh Hasina's government took charge after the election. There is no instability. The continuity of the government means the continuity of development. That would be the case of export trade," Bakht added.

The country fetched over $3.38 billion from exports in Feb, up 7.13 percent over the target and 10.12 percent higher compared with the same month a year ago.

Its earnings from the apparel export registered a 14.17 percent growth, reaching $23.12 billion in FY19, accounting for 84 percent of the total earnings.

Of the total amount, knitwear products earned $11.5 billion, which is 13.5 percent higher than the same period a year ago. Woven products drew more than $11.64 billion, up by 14.84 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.

Between July 2018 and February 2019, exports of agricultural products increased to over $642 million, which is 58.23 percent more than the same period of the previous fiscal year.

But amidst the uptick, there are small blips. Exports of leather and leather products dropped 11.50 percent to $694 million during the period.

Similarly, earnings from the jute and jute goods also registered a negative growth during the period.

BGMEA Senior Vice President Faruque Hassan told bdnews24.com, “The confidence of the buyers in our garments has increased. We are now exporting high-end garment products.”

“We have had a peaceful environment before and after the elections,” he said. "Everything is in our favour now. That's why export earnings are increasing."

The BGMEA leader expected the export performance to remain positive in the rest of the fiscal year.