During July-September of FY 2005-06 export earning was $ 2473.04 million, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics.

The export earning during July-September of FY'07 was also 1.82 percent higher than the export target of $ 3193.75 million.

EPB sources said during the period price index of export items increased by 1.88 percent while the index of quantitative export went up by 29.61 percent.

Export earning from woven garments grew by 30.92 percent reaching $ 1,266.15 million while knitwear export shot up by 35.94 percent reaching $ 1,249.34 million during July-September period.

Apart from woven and knit export, earning from frozen food, home textile, footwear, petroleum by-products, ceramic products, handicrafts, cut flower, agro processed goods and engineering products also registered significant rise, contributing to the overall export growth. All the products also exceeded the export target for the period.

Export growth of pharma-ceuticals, chemical fertilizer, tobacco and vegetables, tea and electronics have declined and also failed to reach the export target during the period.

"Export of our apparel products have increased as few safeguard measures have been imposed on Chinese garment exports," said SM Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

He said Bangladesh has developed backward and forward linkage industries significantly in the recent years as well as developed product quality that attract the attention of foreign buyers.

"Bangladesh may fail to sustain the export growth due to the ongoing political unrest," Hoque feared.

He also urged all to keep ports out of politics to help boost exports.

The EPB has attributed the technical support for export diversification, low interest bank loan facility, and cash incentive facility to the export growth. EPB has fixed a target of export earning of $ 12,500 million in FY 2006-07. In FY 2005-06, export earning, for the first time, reached a double-digit figure of $ 10.53 billion.