Country’s exports to most of the non-traditional markets witnessed a healthy growth in the July-May period of the current financial year 2014-15 but Turkey and South Korea remained blemishes during the period. Exporters said earnings from the Turkey market dropped due to imposition of safeguard duties on the readymade garment imports and devaluation of the euro and the Turkish currency lira while earnings from South Korea decreased due to a fall in export of leather and leather products. On the other hand, export earnings from Australia, China, India and Japan witnessed significant increases. Export earnings from the Turkey market dropped by 17.53 per cent to $653.73 million in 11 months of the current fiscal year from $792.77 million in the same period of the FY 2013-14. Export earnings from Australia in the July-May period of the FY15 increased by 25.39 per cent to $547.38 million from $436.69 million in the same period of the FY14, data showed. ‘It’s a good sign for the country’s RMG sector that the earnings from the non-traditional markets have been increasing gradually,’ a former vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Mohammad Hatem, told New Age. He said the export to Australia increased in the recent months as the country shifted its procurement from China to Bangladesh. ‘Export earnings from Australia witnessed a significant growth in 11 months of the FY15 riding mainly on the earnings from knitwear products. Not only Australia but also New Zealand raised its procurement from Bangladesh as China shifted their production to high-end products from basic items,’ Hatem said. RMG export to Australia in 11 months of the FY15 increased by 22.80 per cent to $481.58 million from $392.17 million in the same period of the FY14, the EPB data showed. Hatem also said the earnings from Turkey dropped due mainly to the imposition of safeguard duty on importing RMG from Bangladesh as well as a depreciation of the euro. The payments between Bangladesh and Turkey are settled in the euro, Hatem added. According to the EPB data, the export of RMG to Turkey in 11 months of the financial year 2014-15 decreased by 23.88 per cent to $438.69 million against $576.34 million in the same period of the FY 2013-14. Export to China increased by 6.40 per cent to $720.01 million in the July-May period of the FY15 against $676.68 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to China increased by 26.42 per cent to $265.71 million. Export to India in the July-may period of the FY15 increased by 18.97 per cent to $472.12 million from $396.82 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to India increased by 11.80 per cent to $94.45 million in the period. Export earnings from Japan in 11 months in the FY15 grew by 6.20 per cent to $838.34 million from $789.38 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to Japan grew by 14.58 per cent to $594.81 million in the period, the EPB data showed. Exporters hoped that the export to Japan would increase more and the market might be the next one-billion-dollar market for Bangladesh as the country (Japan) relaxed rules of origins on knit articles from two stages to one stage. The EPB data showed that export to South Korea in 11 months of the FY15 decreased by 23.78 per cent to $244.12 million from $320.28 million in the same period of previous financial year. Leather export to South Korea in the 11 months dropped by 49.31 per cent to $51.86 million from $102.31 million in the same period of the FY14.
