The impact of the recession has been seen in several top sectors, including readymade garments, the country's main export sector. In the just-ended May, a total of $4.4 billion worth of goods were exported from Bangladesh, about 10% more than in April, but 7% less than the same period last year.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) reported this information in its latest statistics released on Wednesday.
Concerned people say that exports may have decreased in some sectors due to the long government holidays on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and a temporary slowdown in production and supply activities.
According to EPB data, the country's export revenue in April was about $4.01 billion.
Accordingly, export revenue increased by about $390 million in May. However, while exports were about $4.74 billion in May 2025, this year the revenue decreased by about $340 million.
More than 80% of the country's total export revenue comes from the RMG industry. But the export revenue of this sector decreased significantly in May.
In May, the total income from the ready-made garment sector was $3.5941 billion. Of this, $1.9693 billion came from the knitwear sector and $1.6248 billion from woven garments.
In the same month last year, the export income of the garment sector was about $3.92 billion. As a result, the exports of this sector have decreased by more than 8% in a year.
In May, the income from the leather and leather products sector was $1093 million. In the same period last year, the exports of this sector were about $125 million. As a result, exports have decreased by about 13%.
On the other hand, the income from agricultural exports was $671 million, which is about 2% less than the $686 million in May last year.
Despite the negative picture of exports, positive growth has been seen in the jute and jute products sector. In May, the income from this sector was $916 million, which is about 8.5% more than the $845 million in the same period last year. Of this, about $50 million came from jute yarn exports alone.
The home textile sector also continues to grow. In May, goods worth $87.2 million were exported from this sector, which is about 4% more than the same period last year.
In addition, $27.2 million was exported from plastic products and $29.2 million was exported from frozen and live fish.
Overall, the country's total exports of goods amounted to $43.8 billion in the first 11 months of the current FY26 (July-May). This amount was about $45 billion in the same period last fiscal year. As a result, the overall export revenue decreased by about 2.5%.
At the beginning of the current fiscal year, exports amounted to $4.77 billion in July and the growth was about 25%. However, after that, exports showed a downward trend for several consecutive months. Exports decreased in most months until March.
However, the situation improved somewhat in April. About $4 billion in goods were exported in that month, which was 33% more than the same period last year.
Although export earnings increased in May compared to April, the overall export picture remains under pressure as the expected momentum in major export sectors has not returned.
