The country’s merchandise export in the just-concluded fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 fetched US$31.198 billion (3119.8 crore), up by 3.35 per cent against the previous fiscal year’s $30.176 billion, officials said. However, the earnings fell short by 6.0 per cent of the target of $33.2 billion set for the last fiscal. Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Shubhashish Bose attributed this to depreciation of the Euro and the Russian ruble against the US dollar and the fall in production at some local apparel factories in the face of ongoing safety inspections by the Alliance and Accord, two platforms of apparel buyers. “Nearly 54 per cent of our export earnings come from the Euro zone which is now experiencing economic recession. That is why our exporters could bring home much less than the target,” said Mr Bose. He said the export target for the FY 2014-15 was set adding 9.0 per cent to the actual export earnings of the previous fiscal. Mr Bose said the target was set a little bit higher. Thus its achievement was not easy. For the new fiscal year the target has to be set taking into consideration the ongoing recession in the Euro zone. Statistics shows that in the just-concluded fiscal, earnings from the apparel sector stood at $25.490 billion, up by 4.0 per cent against the fiscal’s earnings of $24.491 billion. However, the country’s prime foreign currency-earning sector-readymade garment-missed its yearly target of $26.9 billion by around $1.41 billion. The earnings in the FY 2014-15 from knitwear export stood at $ 12.426 billion, up by 3.13 per cent from the previous fiscal’s $12.049 billion. On the other hand, earnings from woven garment exports in the just-concluded fiscal stood at $13.064 billion, higher by 5.0 per cent compared to the previous export earnings of $12.442 billion. Leather product exports in the FY 2014-15 saw 3.78 per cent growth and earned $249 million against $240 million of the previous fiscal. Footwear export saw 10.43 per cent growth over the period. When contacted, Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) president Abdus Salam Murshedy told the FE on Monday the earnings were satisfactory in view of the serious fall of the Euro and ruble against the US dollar. He said the political unrest in the last January-March period, the impact of the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen Fashions fire and safety activities of the Alliance and Accord resulted in the lower earnings from merchandise exports. “We have many challenges, but the currency depreciation is the prime challenge for now. Since there is no political unrest now, we are hopeful of achieving the target to be set for the new fiscal year,” MrMurshedy added.
