Apparel export growth slowed last month as industry people say compliance requirement and recent political turmoil ate into income. Exports proceeds slowed down to 1.16 per cent in April, compared with the same period last year, the Export Promotion Bureau said. Exports of ready-made garment in July and August 2014 witnessed a 0.07 and 4.23 per cent growth compared to that of the same period of 2013 while the receipts fell by 2.06 and 9.69 per cent in the next two months-September and October, the bureau data showed . But earning from overseas sales rebounded in November with 9.71 per cent growth in the same year and slowed down to 2.38 per cent in December again in 2014 while it has been maintaining a moderate growth since January of the year. Income from exports of apparel products recorded a significant growth of over 7.0 per cent in the first three months of the calendar year. Knitwear earnings stood at $10.0 billion and woven fetched $10.55 billion during the July-April of the current fiscal year 2014-15. But both the sectors failed to achieve the targets by 6.31 per cent and 4.53 per cent set for the period. The overall earnings in April 2015 stood at $2.39 billion against $ 2.41 billion year-ago period marking a 0.55 per cent negative growth. The earnings also fell short of the target by 11.36 per cent, data showed. The total earnings during the first 10 months of the current fiscal stood at $ 25.30 billion showing a 2.63 per cent growth compared to the same period last fiscal. The country also failed to achieve the target set for the period by 5.71 per cent. Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the recent political turmoil and the compliance issues had a negative impact on April growth. Knit export fell significantly in April after the scarcity of orders mainly due to the recent political turmoil, he said, adding: “Buyers followed ‘wait and watch’ approach and placed work orders at a reduced volume at the end of last year as the safety drive went on.” But with the completion of initial inspection by Accord and Alliance, buyers are regaining their confidence in Bangladesh, he said. He added that buyers are gradually increasing work orders in recent times as political turbulence eased.
Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/13/92481
