Exports exceed $5b for 4th straight month

Staff Reporter :
Country’s export earnings have exceeded the $5 billion mark for four consecutive months along with witnessed a healthy growth by 9.88 percent year-on- year in March this year.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed exports reached $5.10 billion in last month on the back of garments and some non-traditional items which was $4.64 billion in the same month, a year ago.

Likewise, Merchandise exports fetched Bangladesh during the first nine months (July- March) of the current fiscal year of 2023- 24 marked a growth by 4.39 per cent to $43.55 billion in the first nine months of this fiscal year, compared to $41.72 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.

Industry insiders foresee that this boost will fortify the country’s foreign exchange reserves and contribute to mitigating volatility in the dollar market.

According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, gross reserves stood at $19.45 billion as per the BPM-6 on 27 March.

However, March’s export earnings were slightly lower than the $5.19 billion recorded in February and also failed to attain the strategic export target for March by nearly one percent.

The EPB data shows that apparel exports grew by about 11 percent to reach $4.34 billion in March – a significant increase from $3.89 billion a year ago.

Knitwear exports also saw an approximate growth of 16.47 percent, reaching $2.42 billion compared to $2.07 billion in the corresponding month of last year.

Woven apparel shipment increased by about 6.26 percent to hit $1.93 billion, up from $1.81 billion.

For apparel exports, the growth was over 5.53 percent , compared to $37.20 billion in the first nine months this fiscal year.

Woven garment exports, however, experienced 0.47 percent growth, while knitwear saw 9.79 percent growth in the nine months leading up to March.

“Since January, this year, the apparel sector experienced growth in shipments that exceeded expectations,” said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).