Export earnings in April have increased by 7.11 per cent, totalling USD 2.95 billion, compared to the same month in the previous fiscal year. This marks a strong rebound of higher shipments of apparel products and registers a growth of 9.37 per cent in the first 10 months (July-April) of FY2017-18. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), shipments of key readymade garments, comprising knitwear and woven items, amounted to USD 25.30 billion during the past 10 months, up by 9.37 per cent from the same period in FY2016-17.Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) senior vice-president Faruque Hassan told The Independent: “Some factors are responsible for this growth. They are: machinery upgrade, order improvement, manufacture of high-value products, development of infrastructure, exporting items to non-traditional markets and gaining buyers’ confidence.” “We have also invested around USD 4 billion in workplace safety and occupational health hazards. The depreciation of our currency against all other foreign currencies has also helped businesspersons, especially those who are associated with export business, to earn more money,” he said.Describing another reason, Faruque Hassan, also managing director of Giant Apparels Ltd, said since 2011, a total of 67 Bangladeshi RMG factories have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and such modernisation of the industry has boosted foreign buyers’ confidence.When asked about it, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem told The Independent: “In the last four months, our exchange rate has devalued to 1 per cent—it helps exporters to get better prices for their products.”Pointing out another reason, Khondaker Golam Moazzem said that port facilities have improved, especially loading and unloading of readymade garments (RMG) containers in the Chittagong port, and it has reduces the lead time as well.Woven products earned USD 12.76 billion in the first 10 months this fiscal year, marking a 7.42 per cent rise from the same period in the previous fiscal year. The knitwear industry earned around USD 12.54 billion during the same time, up by 11.43 per cent from the same period last year.According to the EPB, for the first 10 months of FY 2017-18, exports of agricultural commodities, such as tea, vegetables, and tobacco, registered a growth of 16.77 per cent and fetched USD 543.18 million.EPB officials said that the export of leather and leather products fell significantly, with the sector registering a negative growth rate of 10.02 per cent. “Around 65,000 people used to work at the tanneries in Hazaribagh before we shifted all the factories to Savar. As a result, many of the workers have lost their jobs. This has seriously hit the export of leather goods,” explained a leather businessman.EPB data shows that the growth rate of jute and jute goods exports has increased drastically and reached 7.66 per cent. This sector earned USD 889.74 million in the first 10 months of FY 2017-18.Industry experts said exporting innovative jute products like shopping bags, jute promotional bags, canvas tote bags, and home decor products to countries like Germany and Austria has pushed up the growth rate of this sector.
