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Bangladesh’s export receipts registered a 33.41% year-on-year (YoY) growth to $38.6 billion in the first nine months (July-March) of the current 2021-22 fiscal year (FY), the latest Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows.
The country previously roped in $28.93 billion in the same period of FY21.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh also saw $4.76 billion in export earnings in March — a 54.82% YoY growth.
The figure was also 34% more than the targeted earnings.
The exporters also expressed their satisfaction in their immediate reactions to the export earnings from the first nine months of FY22.
They said that despite the Russia-Ukraine war, an abnormal hike in cotton price, port congestion, freight costs and other issues, it seems like the export earnings are on the right path as of now.
According to the EPB data, the apparel sector, the highest earner from export receipts, registered a YoY growth of 33.81% to $31.42 billion. In FY21, the sector had brought in $23.49 billion.
Among apparel products, knitwear registered a growth of 35.29% to $17.11 billion, while woven garments saw a growth of 32.07% to $14.3 billion, the data also shows.
For the month of March only, apparel registered a growth of 60.15% to more than $3.9 billion.
Home textiles, a new player in the export basket, registered a growth of 36.79% to $1.16 billion in the first nine months of FY22.
Among other notable sectors, during the same period, agricultural products registered a growth of 28.35% to $958.46 million, from $746.72 million in the last fiscal year.
Leather and leather goods registered a growth of 30.95% to $896.8 million, which was $684.84 million in the same period of the last FY.
Engineering products, another promising export sector of the country, marked a growth of 58.09% to $603.33 million from $381.63 million last year.
However, similar to past months, jute and jute products registered a fall of 6.97% to $887.06 million, which was $953.67 million in the same period of the last FY.
Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that entrepreneurs are working hard to sustain this trend of export growth.
“Most of our orders were placed earlier. So, the current international issues did not have much of an impact,” he added.
Regarding the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, he said that bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Russia is worth nearly $1 billion, while two-way trade with Ukraine is around $350 million.
“Our trade with them is much less in comparison. That’s why this conflict did not have any big effect yet. However, the number of orders declined by a little. Moreover, buyers from these two countries have some payments pending, which they will pay later,” he added.
He also said that Bangladesh may have shielded itself from an immediate impact. But if the war prolonged, it may have an impact.
“However, Bangladesh needs to simplify the ease of doing business to sustain this growth. The order numbers are growing, infrastructural development is urgent to sustain it,” he added.
There are problems at the ports, customs and Bangladesh has to adopt good policies like the competitive countries, he added.
“Moreover, the cost of doing business here is high and entrepreneurs have to address policies to solve this. If the problems related to VAT, tax, port, NBR can be solved, the growth will sustain for the coming years,” he added.
Mohiuddin Rubel, a director of the BGMEA and also director of Denim Expert Limited said: “If only the month of March is taken into account, exports are rising because the prevalence of Covid-19 was much higher in the world at this time last year.”
“However, if the positive trend of exports continues and we are able to take advantage of the recent lockdown in China we can return to normalcy in the American-European market,” he added.
He also said that they have to face international issues such as the increase in fuel and container costs, conflict in Ukraine, the hike in the cotton price and many more.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said earlier that the export earnings from the RMG sector and other sectors such as engineering, agriculture and home textiles are increasing, which is a good sign for export diversification.
“Moreover, the export of knitwear is increasing, which is also a positive sign as there are a lot of opportunities to add domestic value in the knitwear sector. Domestic value addition is 60% in knitwear, which is about 45% in woven,” he added.
He also said that the export earnings are mainly volume-driven, not price-driven. Manufacturers increase exports to make up for losses triggered by the rising prices of intermediate goods or raw materials.
Rahman also added that last year, the price of yarn and cotton increased by about 51%. So, although the manufacturers export goods in large volumes, the profit margins are declining.
“However, jute export growth has been consistently negative, although it is eco-friendly and biodegradable. It is important to find out the causes behind it,” said the economist.
(DT)
