Exports firing on all cylinders

Exporters in Bangladesh have kept setting new records as merchandise shipment fetched $4.72 billion in October, the highest single-month receipts.

The earnings were 60.37 per cent higher year-on-year, data from state-owned Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed yesterday.

October's receipts shattered the previous single-month highest export earnings posted in September when overseas sales brought home $4.17 billion.

The stunning rebound in apparel shipment contributed to the surge in the earnings last month.

The export of garments, which usually account for about 85 per cent of the national shipment, surged for a confluence of factors.

There was the relocation of work orders from China, Vietnam, India, and Myanmar as the cost of production has risen in those countries.

A good portion of the earnings in October was down to the settlement of the deferred payments the local suppliers had faced last year after international buyers suspended or put on hold orders worth $3.18 billion owing to the severe fallout of Covid-19.

The US and European buyers also bought goods from Bangladesh in bulk quantity to sell them in the run up to Christmas as the developed economies have returned to normalcy on the back of a rapid coronavirus vaccination.

Besides, the buyers offered better prices for the garment items made in Bangladesh as they took into account the higher freight cost and prices of raw materials used to produce the goods, exporters say.

In July to October, the first four months of the current fiscal year, the earnings from garment shipment were $12.62 billion, up 20.78 per cent year-on-year.

Of the sum, $7.21 billion came from the knitwear shipment, which grew 24.27 per cent. Woven garment shipment rose 16.41 per cent to $5.41 billion, EPB data showed.

Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the demand for garment items had picked up as people were coming out of their homes thanks to the improvement in the pandemic situation.

He said the export would continue to grow if exporters could expand their capacity since they were receiving a handsome quantity of orders from the buyers, who were diverting orders from China, India and Vietnam.

"Our shipment is increasing in Asian markets," he said, adding that buyers had started releasing the deferred payments.

The entrepreneur, however, warned about the disruption to the supply chain caused by the power cuts in China as Bangladesh imports a significant quantity of fabrics from the world's second-largest economy to make woven garments for the export markets.

Domestically, Bangladesh needs to improve road, port, airport and transport infrastructures to retain the export momentum, he said.

Md Saiful Islam, president of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh, echoed Azim, saying the higher trend of exports would continue.

"This is because globally, countries are cutting their reliance on a single country which is China."

He said the prices of locally made items were going up gradually as manufacturers now shipped high-end products to Europe and the US, the two largest export destinations for Bangladesh.

"However, the longer lead time is still a major challenge."

Overall, export earnings increased 22.62 per cent to $15.74 billion in July to October, according to the EPB.

Frozen and live fish exports grew by 17.46 per cent to $225.23 million, agricultural products rose 29.34 per cent to $464.11 million, and leather and leather goods shipments were up 28.85 per cent to $364.9 million.

The sales of terry towels in the export markets posted 31.90 per cent growth to take the earnings to $16.83 million during the four-month period. Home textile exports went up by 16.52 per cent to $412.78 million.

Jute and jute goods exports, however, fell by 24.11 per cent to $332.98 million.