Published in Dhaka Tribune on Thursday, 10 July 2014.
Export earnings rise 11.65% in FY14
Tribune Report
Yet falls 1% short of $30.5bn target due to political turmoil and labour unrest
The country’s export earnings rose by 11.65% to over US$30bn in the last financial year (2013-14), riding on the RMG sector despite political turmoil and labour unrest.
In the previous fiscal year, the export was $27bn.
However, the growth fell 1% short of the target of $30.50bn set by the government for the just concluded fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released yesterday.
The export growth was mostly driven by the readymade garments sector, which registered 13.83% growth to around $24.5bn.
Woven garments products earned $12.44bn posting 12.70% growth compared to the previous fiscal’s $11bn, while knitwear exports soared to over $12bn, a 15% rise over previous year’s value of $10.47bn.
In June 2014, the country’s exports went up by 3.5% to $2.8bn from the same period of a year ago, the EPB data showed. This figure is 8.65% down from the target of $3.06bn.
Frozen foods export earnings posted 17.35% growth to $638m followed by tea 52% to $3.71m, vegetables 33.72% to $147m, pharmaceutical 15.75% to $69m, plastic products 1.41% to $86m, rubber 44.22% to $19m, leather 26.47% to $505m, leather products 48.5% to $240m and footwear 32.19% to $550m.
Meanwhile, earnings from frozen fishes, fruits, petroleum bi products, cotton and cotton products, jute and jute products, specialised textile and ships, boats and floating structure were seen a decline in the just concluded FY over the previous FY.
Export of jute and jute products declined by 20% to $824 against $1030m in the previous year.
“The export growth is satisfactory as Bangladesh almost reached the target despite political unrest,” Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, told the Dhaka Tribune.
The government had set a target, which was achievable, if there were no political unrest, said Moazzem.
The export earnings rose in the last fiscal year, but the growth of profits of the owner slightly slowed down due to rise in production cost in the RMG sector, the highest foreign currency earner had to spend more to face compliance issue and increased wages, but the government had also provided some incentives to cushion the RMG owners, he added.
Suspension of Generlised System of Preferences (GSP) did not cast any impact on the export but it acted as a branding crisis for Bangladeshi RMG over compliance issue, said Moazzem while he was commenting on the impact of the GSP suspension on export performance.
“During the last few years, Bangladesh has made a development in industrialisation, which was reflected in the country’s export earnings,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Our export earnings are mostly RMG-oriented and if the government provides facilities to the other sectors, the export basket would be extended further in the coming days in terms of value, said Salam.
Export value increased due to the better condition in the overall European market, said Md Jasim Uddin, president of Bangladesh plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA).
“But the growth percentage is still lower than the expectation as per our tract rerecords.”