The country witnessed a poor performance in achieving export target in the first two months of the current fiscal, which the experts fear may lead to failure in fetching the desired foreign exchange during the entire year, thus affecting the overall external trade. More than half of the Bangladesh missions abroad were unable to fetch desired foreign exchange in the country from exports during the first two months (July-August) of the year, data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) shows. Such failure in achieving export target by most of the missions is likely to put the external trade under pressure in fulfilling the export target for the entire fiscal, sector insiders opined. According to information, 36 foreign missions, out of 53, have failed to meet export target during the said period, indicating a shortfall of the target. Latest EPB data shows, 53 missions fetched foreign exchange worth $5280.11 million during July-August of the year 2015-16 while the missions was set to bring $5687 million, experiencing a 4.82 percent shortfall over the strategic target. EPB data supports that the said missions during the first two months of the last fiscal (2014-2015) fetched foreign currencies of $5242 million while the amount during the same period of the fiscal 2013-2014 was $5384.34 million. Mentionable, the country is set to fetch $33,500 million in the current fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2014-2015, the country had fetched $31,198.45 million against the target of $33,300 million. In the fiscal year 2013-2015, the country fetched $30,176.80 million while it was set to bring $30,500 million. Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, London, Paris, Brasilia, Baghdad, Male, Kathmandu, Islamabad, Riyadh, Pretoria and Ankara are among the missions that failed to achieve export earning target for the July-August period. The 17 missions that achieved the target are Canberra, Ottawa, New Delhi, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, Washington, Brunei, Nairobi, Kuwait, Tripoli, Muscat, Mexico city, Rabat, Manila, Hanoi, and Colombo. EPB data also suggests that at presents 35 Bangladeshi missions abroad do not have commercial wings while 18 missions maintain commercial wings. Sector insiders said that there is no alternative to diversify products and markets to ensure a sustainable growth in achieving export target. Conducting a thorough studying over different markets across the globe, the government can help the exporters diversify their exportable products, Abdus Salam Murshedy, President of the Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh (EAB) said adding that product diversification will help the country penetrate new markets. On the other hand, it is also necessary to arrange more fairs abroad with participation of Bangladeshi companies to display their products to make those familiar to the foreigners, he opined. Besides product diversification, the government and the entrepreneurs should also explore new markets to enhance the country’s export volume, said Md. Hatem, former Vice-President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
