The country’s export earnings grew by 7.15 per cent to over US$ 17.91 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year comparing to the corresponding period of last fiscal.The aggregate export receipts during the July-December period of the FY 2017-18 were also slightly (0.23 per cent) up from the strategic target of nearly $ 17.87 billion, according to official statistics.Bangladesh’s export earnings were recorded at $ 16.72 billion in the first six months of the FY 2016-17, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data revealed Thursday.The country’s readymade garment (RMG) posted a 7.75 per cent growth to $ 14.77 billion during the July-December period this fiscal year over the matching period of last fiscal.Earnings from knitwear products registered a hefty growth of 11.47 per cent in the first half of the FY 2017-18.Exports of knitwear items fetched over $ 7.59 billion during the July-December period compared to nearly $ 6.81 billion during the same period of last fiscal.Earnings from export of woven garments were recorded at nearly $ 7.18 billion in the first six months of this fiscal, reflecting a 4.08 per cent higher growth than that of the matching period of last fiscal.Among other items, exports of jute and jute goods fetched $ 574.06 million and that of agricultural products $ 310.36 million during the July-December period this fiscal year, posting a 21.48 per cent and 19 per cent increase respectively over that the corresponding period of last fiscal.On the other hand, earnings from shipment of home textile products during the first half of the current fiscal year rose by 15.65 per cent to $ 407.73 million while that of leather and leather products fell by 1.21 per cent to $ 620.27 million over the same period of last fiscal, according to the EPB figures.
