Exports stage comeback

Bangladesh’s exports earnings in July rose 44% to $3.91 billion, from $2.71 billion in June, after witnessing a sharp decline in the last couple of months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data unveiled on Tuesday, in July, the first month of the fiscal year 2020-21, Bangladesh earned $3.91 billion with a 0.59% increase in export earnings, which was $3.88 billion in the same period last year.

In FY20, the country’s exports earnings registered a sharp decline of nearly 17% at $33.67 billion as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain and slashed the demand for most goods.

In April, May and June, the country saw the worst case of export earnings, as it nosedived by 82.85%, 61.57% and 2.5% to $520 million, $1.46 billion and $2.71 billion respectively.

The slight rise in July in export earnings was driven by the better performance of agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, jute and jute goods and the home textile sectors.

As per the EPB data, jute and jute goods exports posted a 38.23% rise to $103.51 million in July, 2020 which was $74.88 million in the same period of July 2019.

Meanwhile, export earnings from home textile products in July this year grew by 42.25% to $94.01 million from $66.09 million in the same period of last year.

Exports earnings from agricultural products rose by 30.92% to $101 million, while pharmaceutical products earned $17 million, posting a 49% growth.    

Performance of RMG sector  

Export earnings from the RMG sector, the $28 billion industry and the largest contributor to overall exports, decreased by 1.98% to $3.24billion in July. It was $3.31 billion in the same month of 2019.

Knitwear products earned $1.75 billion, up by 4.30%, compared to $1.67 billion in the same month of last year.

On the other hand, export earnings from woven garments declined by 8.43% to $1.49 billion, which was $1.63 billion a year ago.

Performance of other sectors

Export earnings from leather and leather goods in July this year declined by 15.23% to $89.94 million from $106.10 million in the same month of last year.

Leather footwear exports saw a fall of 17.53% to $59.67 million while other leather products fetched $22.05 million with an 8.16% negative growth in the period.

On the other hand, export earnings from frozen and live fish increased by 2.21% to $42.52 million while the shrimp export fell by 5.11% to $31.73 million in the first month of FY21.