The country’s export income declined by 11.96 per cent in the first-month of the current fiscal year (FY’16) over the same period last fiscal due mainly to the significant fall in the apparel shipment. The total export receipts reached US$ 2.625 billion in July of FY’16 versus $ 2.982 billion in the same month of last financial year, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed. Crisis-battered destinations weigh on July overseas sales receipt The country’s overall earnings from merchandise exports also fell short of the target by 15.65 per cent in July over the same period last fiscal. Industry people blamed the prevailing economic crisis in major destinations and weakening currencies, including the Euro, against US dollar for the negative growth. Earning from more than 45 products, including the top export-earning readymade garment, declined in July. Shipment of woven witnessed 10 per cent and knit 14 per cent plunge during the month. Woven and knit garments brought $1.087 billion and $1.127 respectively this July, which were $1.21 billion and $1.30 billion in the corresponding month of FY’15. Other export earners, such as knit, woven, home textile, leather, jute, fisheries, and agriculture, recorded significant decline in the month, the EPB data showed. President of Bangladesh Exporters Association Abdus Salam Murshedy said the overall shipment showed a decline as exports of apparel items fared poorly. He said ready-made garment contributes more than 80 per cent to overall exports. “But uncertainty has loomed large over the apparel sector for falling value of Euro and other currencies like Russian Ruble, Japanese Yen against US Dollar, causing the decline in export,” he said. He said the ongoing economic crisis in the Euro Zone is having a “serious effect” on the export performance. Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) President Muhammad Shams-uz Zoha said that the recent war in the Middle-East dealt a severe blow to exports of jute products, especially jute yarn to Syria, Turkey and Iran. He said exports of other jute products to India are also showing downtrend following strong BDT against the greenback parallel to weaker Indian Rupee. An apparel exporter, requesting anonymity, said the campaign launched against Banglades after the Rana Plaza tragedy has made played a contributing role to reducing the bargaining power of local producers. He said buyers in the USA–the key destination for Bangladeshi garment if a single country is taken into account–have been offering lower prices for Bangladeshi products over the last two years. However, the Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (MCCI), Dhaka, in its latest economic review said export growth in FY’15 was the slowest in 13 years. In the fiscal year 2015, exports rose only by 3.39 per cent year-on-year to $ 31.20 billion from over $30.18 billion in FY’14, lowest in last 13 years. The elite chamber, in its quarterly economic review (April-June, 2015) said: “Back-to-back political unrest in the last two years, economic slowdown in the export destination countries and devaluation of Euro against dollar are responsible for the decline in export growth.”
