Exports beat target, narrowly

Export earnings rose 11.82 percent year-on-year to $2.68 billion in April on the back of higher shipments of garment, leather and leather goods, jute and jute goods and engineering products.

April’s receipts, which narrowly beat the month’s target of $2.67 billion, were a decline when compared with the previous month’s. In March, exports raked in $2.83 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

Last month’s earnings take the total export receipts in the first 10 months of the fiscal year to $27.64 billion, up 9.25 percent from a year earlier. The export target for the July-April period was $27.11 billion.

Bangladesh earned $31.2 billion in exports last fiscal year, and is chasing a $33.5 billion figure in fiscal 2015-16.

Garment, which typically accounts for 80 percent of the country’s export receipts, brought home $2.23 billion last month, up 14.95 percent year-on-year.

“Garment exports from Bangladesh will continue to grow,” said Faruque Hassan, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

He cited higher exports to new destinations, upselling and that too in high volumes, and shift of work orders from China as the reasons for the bullish outlook.

“Our growth prospects are immense, but we need to increase our capacity to make the best of those opportunities,” Hassan added.

Apart from apparel items, exports of leather and leather goods increased 0.70 percent year-on-year to $920.33 billion during the July-April period of fiscal 2015-16.

Jute and jute goods exports are seeing a revival on the back of new demand of natural fibres worldwide and for return of business-friendly environment in some Middle East countries, industry insiders said.

During the period, jute and jute goods fetched $729.87 million.

Exports of terry towels increased 20.18 percent to $40.79 million, headgears or caps 128.09 percent to $116.28 million and engineering products 17.19 percent to $459.01 million.

Furniture exports increased 19.35 percent to $38.43 million and pharmaceuticals products 15.33 percent to $68.24 million.