Bangladesh’s merchandise exports plunged by 16.52% in April of the fiscal year 2022-23 as apparel demand fell across major markets.
The country’s export sectors earned $3.95 billion in April 2022-23, while it was $4.73 billion in the same period of last fiscal, according to the provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh.Export grows 12% in March
“Apparel demand was low in the global markets that’s why every factory is running with less capacity. Besides that, about 12 days were vacations in the appeal industry in the last month as it was the month of Ramadan and Eid Ul Fitr, which is reflected in the export earnings,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice President Shahidullah Azim told The Business Standard.
“The global market has been facing a low sales volume for the last couple of months, which is reflected in our business,” said Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of BGMEA.
However, Bangladesh is in a better position than other competing countries as it can produce much value-added yarn locally while the orders fell by 30%. The market will hopefully return to a positive trend by the end of this year, Parvez hoped.
Although Bangladesh’s export earnings dropped year-on-year in March too, the bigger picture shows that exports have risen by 8.07% in the first nine months of the current fiscal 2022-23 compared to the same period of the last fiscal year.
This growth has been propelled by the readymade garments sector, which has seen a 12.17% growth in the same period to $38.25 billion, according to the EPB.Relief for external balance as export, remittance grow
In March, however, exports fell by 2.41% to $4.76 billion, but this was also cushioned by the garments sector, an ever-dependable saviour for Bangladesh’s export economy.
Amid raging global inflation, demand had depressed around the world. People began to cut down on everything apart from basic essentials.
A September 2022 survey by Cotton Incorporated showed that almost two in three consumers in the United States (US) were either buying less clothes for themselves, or were putting off purchase altogether.
The same was the case for countries in the European Union – Bangladesh’s biggest market for apparel exports.
