The country’s export earnings rose by nearly 3%, riding on the RMG sector in the first eleven months of the current fiscal year. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, in July-May of FY2014-15, Bangladesh earned $28.14bn by exporting goods, which is 2.80% higher compared to the same period last year. However, Bangladesh failed to achieve its set target by 6%. The government set the target of earning $29.94bn during July-May of the current fiscal year. In May, Bangladesh fetched $2.84bn through export to the global markets, which is 4.37% higher compared to $2.72bn of the same period last year. But the country has failed to reach its export target of $3.1bn by 8.57%. RMG sector, the highest export earner, posted a 3.37% growth to $22.92bn in July-May period of the FY2014-15 compared to same period of last fiscal year. On the other hand, RMG export rose by 6.84% to $2.34bn in May, compared to the same period of last year. According to EPB data, woven sector earned $11.76bn, which was 4.43% higher compared to the same period last year, while Knitwear earned $11.67bn, posting a 2.28% growth. Among the other major sectors, pharmaceutical sector posted a growth by 4.49% followed by leather products 2.52%, footwear 26.93%, jute and jute goods 5%, home textile 1.8% and bicycle 15.15%. while frozen food export earnings fell by 5.19%, which was followed by shrimps 4%, tea 23.37%, vegetable 25.79%, leather 21.26%, raw jute 14%, specialised textile 4.32% and furniture 8.88%. “The export growth including plastic goods could be better if the prices of Euro did not devalue against US dollar as EU markets are our prime export destination,” Md Jashim Uddin, President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) told the Dhaka Tribune. He also urged the government to keep the tax at source at 0.60% for the development of export-oriented sector as it suffers in the wake of recession in the global market.
