Bangladesh’s exports rise 5.89% to $5.13bn in January

Going against expectations, exporters have managed to maintain earnings levels for a third consecutive month

MV Songa Cheetah anchored at the Chattogram port jetty on Monday, Feb 07, 2022, was seen carrying 952 TEUs (each 20 feet long) of export load containers. Photo: Suman Babu

Bangladesh managed to bring in more than $5 billion in export receipts for a third consecutive month in January, beating the expectations of businesses.

Exports increased 5.89 percent year-on-year to $5.13 billion in January, according to the data released by the Export Promotion Bureau on Thursday. However, the figure was below the target of $5.25 billion set by the government, falling short by 2.10 percent.

Bangladesh earned over $5 billion in November and December, with the December figure of $5.37 billion being the highest in the country’s history.

The country fetched about $32.45 billion in the first seven months of the 2022-23 fiscal year, a 9.81 percent jump from a year earlier.

Garment owners, whose exports account for the vast majority of Bangladesh’s earnings from abroad, have warned for the past four months that high inflation in Europe and America would cut into their sales.

Combined with the gas and power crisis in Bangladesh, they had expressed fears of a dip in exports in January.

Garment exports rose 14.31 percent to $27.42 billion in the July-January period from a year earlier, beating the $26.17 billion target, EPB data shows.