Belgium is on course to become the new billion-dollar export market for Bangladesh in the current financial year 2014-15 riding on the moderate growth of readymade garments and frozen food products. Exports to Belgium in the first seven months of the FY15 grew by 9.01 per cent to $608.97 million against $558.59 million in the same period of the FY14, according to the statistics of Export Promotion Bureau. The export earnings from Belgium in the FY14 totalled $970.53 million, which was 32.80 per cent higher than the earnings of $730.80 million in the FY13. The readymade garment export to Belgium in the July-January period of the FY15 increased to $459.15 million from $443.18 million in the same period of the FY14. The frozen food export to Belgium in the first seven months of the FY15 increased to $86.16 million from $62.03 million in the same period of the FY14. The country’s export earnings are mostly concentrated to the seven billion-dollar markets — the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. Exporters hope that if the ongoing 9 per cent export growth rate continues in Belgium, Bangladesh will get a new billion-dollar export market in the current financial year. ‘We hope that the exports to Belgium will exceed $1 billion dollar in the current financial year and it is good news for Bangladesh that exports to the European markets are increasing,’ Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim told New Age on Monday. He said that there was a strong possibility for Japan and Netherlands to be the two more billon-dollar export markets for Bangladesh but the ongoing political unrest was holding back the opportunity. Export earnings from Japan and Netherlands in the FY14 totalled $862.07 million and $858.13 million respectively. According to the EPB data, exports to Japan and Netherlands in the July-January period of the FY15 amounted to $540.77 million and $503.18 million respectively. Mahmudul Hasan, former vice-president of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, said Belgium was now the number one export destination of frozen foods. Export of frozen foods to Belgium exceeded $100 million in the FY14 and the first seven months of the current financial year maintained a moderate growth in the market, he said. Around 80 per cent of the total frozen foods that are exported to Belgium is shrimp, he added.
