Bangladesh’s export earnings from European countries except Germany registered a significant growth in the July-October period of this financial year 2017-18, riding on an excellent performance of readymade garment products.According to the Export Promotion Bureau data, exports to major European countries registered double digit growth in the four months of FY18 while the RMG export to Germany fell in the period compared with that in the same period of last fiscal year.The EPB data showed that Bangladesh suffered a negative export growth in two promising markets — Japan and China — in the July-October period of FY18.Exporters said that earnings growth in the EU markets increased in recent months as the euro appreciated against the dollar.They also said that buyers and brands cut import orders from Bangladesh for their Chinese stores that caused the negative growth.Export earnings from the UK, the second largest export destination for Bangladesh in the EU, grew by 20.84 per cent to $1.34 billion in the four months of FY18 from $1.11 billion in the same period of FY17.Earnings from apparel products fetched $1.25 billion with 22.27 per cent growth in the period.Export earnings from Spain in July-October in FY18 grew by 25.81 per cent to $801.02 million from $636.70 million in the same period of FY17.Export earnings from the Netherlands rose by 34.16 per cent to $401.08 million in the four months of FY18.Bangladesh earned $580.97 million from France with 2.70 per cent growth and $463.74 million from Italy with 12.06 per cent growth.Exports to Germany, the second largest export destination for Bangladesh, in the July-October period of FY18 stood at $1.86 billion, the same amount earned in the July-October period of FY17.Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said exports depend on season and the earnings from Germany would increase from November. RMG export earnings fell by 0.39 per cent to $1.73 billion from $1.74 billion in the market, data showed.‘We have to wait to identify the reasons for the stagnancy of growth in the German market. Hopefully the export would rebound in the market in the coming months,’ Md Fazlul Haqe, former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told New Age on Saturday.Export earnings from the US, the largest destination for Bangladesh’s exports, in the July-October period of FY18 grew by 2.28 per cent to $1.87 billion from $1.83 billion in the same period of FY17.Apparel export to the market grew by 2.44 per cent to $1.68 billion from $1.64 billion.The EPB data showed that the country’s export earnings from Japan in the July-October period of FY18 fell by 3.94 per cent to $333.90 million from $347.60 million in the same period of FY17.Export earnings from China in the four months of the FY18 decreased by 22.42 per cent to $224.75 million from $289.71 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.Parvez said that the domestic consumption in China slightly decreased in recent times and global retailers also cut import orders from Bangladesh for their Chinese stores due to congestions in the Chittagong port.‘We are losing many orders from global brands as we have been failing to meet lead time due to the problem in the port,’ he said.
