Merchandise shipments fell by 5.84 per cent during the first half of the
current fiscal year, as export earnings continue to witness downtrend in
recent months.
Total export earnings from July to December of FY 2019-20 reached $19.30
billion against $20.49 billion fetched during the same period of the last
fiscal. The income also fell short of the target by 12.77 per cent set for the
period, according to the latest data of the state-run Export Promotion Bureau
(EPB).
The single-month export earnings in December 2019, however, edged up by
2.89 per cent to $3.52 billion. Clothing sector is the country''s top foreigncurrency earner accounting more than 84 per cent of total overseas sales.
Exporters and officials have attributed the decline in prices of apparel items
to a drop in export receipts. Overall export earnings from the garment itemsboth knitwear and woven apparels- fell by 6.21 per cent in the first half of
this fiscal.
The apparel sector fetched nearly $16.02 billion during the July-December
period of FY ''20 against $17.08 billion during the same period a year earlier.
Earnings from woven garments fell by 7.28 per cent to $7.81 billion in the
first six months of this fiscal, the EPB figures show.
Proceeds from knitwear exports during the period also fell by 5.16 per cent
to nearly $8.20 billion. Woven and knitwear brought in $8.43 billion and
$8.65 billion respectively in July-December period of last fiscal.
Earnings from other key sectors also fell during the first half of the fiscal,
compared with the year-earlier period. The EPB data showed earnings from
home textile stood at $370.1 million, down 9.5 per cent from $408.94
million.
Earnings from home textiles also fell short of the target by 14.59 per cent.
Exporters said single-month growth does not show the clothing sector''s
turnaround. President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Associ-ation, or BGMEA, Dr Rubana Huq termed the December
growth "nominal" compared to previous years''. "December is a month when exports soar," she said.
RMG exports grew by 15.66 per cent during the first half of FY 2018-19
compared to the same period of 2017-18, she said, adding the growth is 6.21
per cent negative in July-December of the current fiscal.
Just an increase in December does not signify the trend of the sector "turning
around" as such, she noted.
Though December and January are peak months, exports have had no
significant gain, she said adding the first two weeks of December remained
negative while the second half picked up slightly.
Source: The Financial Express, Bangladesh Tuesday, 07 January 2020