Bangladesh’s exports have made a turnaround in August after suffering a setback in the first month of the ongoing fiscal, which is being credited to the political stability.The exports dipped 12 percent in July compared with the year-ago period. But the August figures rose 28 per cent year on year.Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Vice Chairman and CEO Shubashish Bose hopes the growth will continue in this fiscal year.The country earned $ 2.76 billion in August, which is 27.7 per cent more than the same period last year, Bose told bdnews24.com on Friday.In August 2014, the country exported products worth around $2.16 billion. In July, the first month of current 2015-16 fiscal year, the exports were nearly $2.62 billion.Thus, the total exports in July-August stands were worth $5.4 billion with a growth of around five percent. Readymade garment accounted for over 80 percent of the total exports. According to the EPB, the export earnings in August were three percent more than July.Bose said the rise in exports was an outcome of ‘stable political environment’. “The August exports were ordered in April. It means that the orders were made when the country breathed easy after three months of volatile politics from January to March,” he said.”The orders for the exports in July were made during the instability in February-March. The orders dropped by 30 to 40 percent at the time. The earnings also dropped,” he said.”The buyers have regained confidence. They are placing more orders now. So the positive trend in exports will continue,” he added.In 2014-15 fiscal, Bangladesh earned some $31.22 billion by exporting goods. The amount was 3.4 percent more than 2013-14.The government has set an export target of $33.5 billion.
