The country has earned USD 4.60 billion through exports in August. It has increased by 36.18 percent compared to same month last year. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) confirmed the information on Sunday.
Export revenue was USD 3.38 billion during the same period last year. According to EPB data, export earnings increased by 25.31 percent to USD $8.59 billion in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2022-23. Bangladesh earned USD 6.85 billion during the same period last fiscal year.
In the first two months of the fiscal year 2023, the garment sector has the highest export earnings of the country. Revenue in this sector grew by 26.1 percent to USD 7.11 billion. The revenue was USD 5.64 billion in the same period last year in fiscal year 2022.
Among apparel products, knitwear posted revenue of USD 3.91 billion, up 20.15 percent from USD 2.25 billion in the same period last year. Also, readymade garments saw an increase in revenue from USD 2.38 billion to USD 3.19 billion.
Home textile export sector played crucial role in export earnings. It rose to the second position in the last financial year. This sector has seen a 53.39 percent increase in revenue to USD 268.52 million. This income was USD 175.06 million in the same period of last financial year.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Mohiuddin Rubel told Bangladesh Post, “As per the EPB data, Bangladesh has exported USD 3.7 billion worth of apparel in the latest month of August. In a year over year comparison, export has seen a growth of 36.04 percent.”
He also said, “However, the global geo-political tension and volatile economic impact caused by that has already started to affect the export. With the rising inflation, consumer demand in western market has been reducing and this has been reflected on the export scenario. The total export in August 2022 is USD 3.7 billion, whereas it was almost USD 4.1 billion in June 2022.”
“Starting from June, RMG export growth has started to decline and both in July and August 2022 it has been less than June’s export. The upcoming months look gloomy since some of the major brands are holding their orders recently due to excess overstock. So we are rather being more careful and vigilant than being complacent,” he added.
