Bangladesh has set an export target of $37.5 billion for the current fiscal year, which is a 1.35 percent rise from the previous year, reports bdnews24.com. The government estimates the garment industry will be able to fetch $31.6 billion in exports by the end of the current fiscal year, accounting for almost 80 percent of the earning. “I hope we will be able to achieve our target,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the media at the secretariat on Sunday after revealing the figures. Bangladesh’s exports earning stood at $34.83 billion in FY2017 against the target of $37 billion. Ahmed said they expect the service sector to earn a further $3.5 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. The target from woven garment is set at $15.06 billion, up 10.08 percent from last year while it is $15.10 billion for knitwear, which is a 9.76 percent rise. In the just concluded fiscal 2016-17, the apparel sector earned $28.14 billion — $14.39 billion from woven garments and $13.75 billion from knitwear, Ahmed said. Another report adds; Bangladesh exports have grown by a meagre 1.69 percent in the year to June, with its slowest pace in 15 years. Exports fell 15.27 percent year-on-year to $3.04 billion in June, the last month of the fiscal year, according to the latest figures from the Export Promotion Bureau released on Monday. The apparel sector, which accounts for almost 80 percent of the exports, registered only 0.2 percent growth in FY2017. The total exports between July 2016 and June 2017 were worth $34.83 billion, 5.85 percent lower than the target set for the period. Garment, which comprises knitwear and woven items, earned $28.15 billion, 7.34 percent below the target. But the knitwear sector posted a 3 percent rise while earnings from woven garment exports dropped 2.35 percent. Among the other sectors, earnings from frozen shrimp export dropped 0.56 percent. Leather exports fell 16.3 percent but leather goods registered a 19.63 percent growth. Shoe exports also saw an 8.5 percent rise. Export earnings rose for jute and jute products by 4.66 percent and medicine by 8.6 percent. But agricultural products earnings dropped 7.2 percent. For FY2017, the export earnings target was $37 billion. BSS adds; Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Tuesday laid emphasis on attaining efficiency in digital trade to keep up the country’s progress in the competitive world trade. “We have no scope to lag behind when the world trade is moving up adopting digital system,” said the minister while addressing a workshop as chief guest in CIRDAP auditorium. Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) organized the workshop titled “Cross-border paperless Trade Facilitation in Bangladesh”. He hoped that paperless trade will not only reduce labour, time and expenditure but also ensure accountability and transparency. Referring to the research that indicates digital trade will cut 17-31 percent business cost and 24-44 percent time, the minister said: “We have to keep running our progress adopting the modern trade system.” World Trade Organization (WTO) has decided to sign agreement with concerned countries to ease cross-border trade and Bangladesh approved it on September 27, 2016 as per the decision of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in 2013. Bangladesh is going to sign Trade Simplification Agreement on August 29 in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. Citing the country’s export target of US$ 37.5 billion from products and computer service in fiscal 2017-18, Tofail said: “Private sector has to move forward alongside the government to attain the target.” National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Nojibur Rahman, Tariff Commission Chairman Mushfika Ifkat, Commerce Secretary Shubhashish Bose, Chief Controller of Imports and Exports Firoza Khan, former Secretary Sohel Ahmed and former Ambassador Munsi Foyez Ahmed, among others, spoke on the occasion. BFTI Chief Executive Officer Ali Ahmed chaired the workshop. Representatives of different ministries, Bangladesh Bank, NBR and trade bodies also participated in the workshop giving their opinions on paperless cross-border trade. Meanwhile, Foreign direct investment or FDI has increased in Bangladesh, particularly in energy, telecom and stockmarket. Bangladesh received $2.65 billion in gross inflows of FDI between July 2016 and May 2017, whereas the amount was $2.33 billion in the same period of the previous year. The net inflow of FDI jumped 27.75 percent to $1.62 billion in the July-May period, according to data released by Bangladesh Bank on its website. Portfolio investment in the stockmarket jumped about six times to $324 million. Finance Minister AMA Muhith has mentioned “political stability” as a factor behind the growth. In his closing speech on budget in parliament on Jun 28, while discussing FDI, he said: “A stable political situation has created a positive impact.” Trade deficit widened to $9.2 billion in the 11 months to May from $6.45 billion a year ago. Bangladesh has imported goods worth $40.25 billion between July 2016 and May 2017, which is about 11 percent higher than in the same period of fiscal 2015-16. On the other hand, exports rose 3.8 percent year-on-year to $31.05 billion in the July-May period.
