Apparel export earnings showed 2.56% growth in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, EPB provisional data shows, despite supply chain disruptions in the last two months in the wake of the countrywide political violence.
Police escort has helped the RMG exporters to a large extent to ship their products on time.
The RMG manufacturers however claimed they had to face setbacks in sending products to Chittagong for shipment due to security problems. The figures, however, showed positive growth in export earnings.
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) sources said Bangladesh earned about $16.55bn through exporting readymade garments in July-February of FY2014-15. This figure is 2.56% higher than the $16.14bn of the same period in the last fiscal year.
Knitwear exports during the period stood at $8.13bn, while woven products earned $8.41bn growing at 1.22%, as the previous year’s figure was $17.17bn, the EPB data showed.
“Though the export earnings showed about 2.56% growth, it was expected to reach 7%, and if the supply chain was not disrupted, the export growth could be even higher,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.
Commenting on the negative impact on the ongoing political unrest, Azim said: “The impact of the political turmoil will be reflected in the May-June period, as we’ve failed to grab work orders according to our expectations.”
“As we remained cautious about the possible negative impact, due to the supply chain disruption, the RMG sector witnessed less impact than last year, thanks to police escort carrying our products safely to the port city for shipment,” he added.
Bangladesh has witnessed continuous countrywide blockade and hartals since January 6, which were sponsored by the BNP-led 20 party alliance. BNP and its allies called the blockade and hartals to mount pressure on the government to hold a fresh election.
Meanwhile, the business community, especially the export-oriented sector, demanded incentives and policy support from the government to recover losses incurred due to the political disturbance. The $24.5bn RMG industry alone employs over 4 million workers, of whom 80% are women mostly from rural areas.
