The country’s major income sector is exports, but due to global uncertainty, authorities concerned are fearing that export growth may not be achieved in the upcoming fiscal year.
However, growth could rebound if inflation eases in key global markets.
The main destinations of the country’s exports have been hit by global crises and inflation. Consumer demand is also not increasing there. Therefore, in the budget of the next financial year, the growth in export income is being cut by USD 2 billion.
During a recent government coordination council meeting on ‘Financial Currency and Exchange Rate’ officials addressed the challenges of export targets. At the meeting, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said, “Since exports are dependent on imports, while controlling imports to reduce inflation, attention should be paid so that exports are not hindered.”
Despite the cautious outlook, Finance Secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Majumdar expressed optimism showing a 4.39 percent growth in export income from July to March.
He said that if inflation comes down and the economic situation recovers in export destinations, our export growth is likely to boost in the upcoming fiscal year.
The World Economic Forum has issued a less optimistic forecast, predicting that conditions in commodity-exporting regions will not see significant improvement over the next two fiscal years.
Hence, considering the overall situation, the target of export income of $6200 billion has been reduced to $6000 billion.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has called for strategic diversification and expansion into new markets to boost export income. FBCCI Senior Vice President Amin Helal said, “We need to enable our most competent sectors to compete on the global stage.”
Data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) reveals that 76 percent of the country’s exports are concentrated in 12 key markets, primarily in Europe and North America. Recently, the export growth of Bangladeshi products in the United States market has dropped by 23 percent and 17.68 percent in the European Union market.
According to the forecast of the World Economic Forum, the export growth in the United States this year will be 6.2 percent and that will decrease to 5.1 percent next year. But, exports may grow slightly in European countries.
BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem told Bangladesh Post, “While our export product prices have not increased, we've observed a different trend from our buyers, who are inclined to reduce orders, and lower prices. Additionally, export processing complexities, electricity and gas shortages, among other factors, are impeding our business, potentially having an adverse effect on our exports.”
