Bangladesh failed to achieve its export target for the last fiscal year (2012-13), falling $981.74m short, although the export earnings witnessed 11.18% growth over the previous fiscal year (2011-12).
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh fetched $27.02bn from exports in the last fiscal year against its strategic target of $28bn, reports UNB.
The figure represents a 3.51% shortfall from the target.
The single-month export figure of $2.7bn in June also fell 5.02% short of the target of $2.84bn, showing a 16.31% growth.
The total export earnings during the 2011-12 fiscal year stood at $24.3bn compared to $22.92bn in the previous fiscal year (2010-11).
Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) President Abdus Salam Murshedy said considering the current strength and capability of the country’s export-oriented sectors, securing a double-digit growth is nothing abnormal for Bangladesh.
“But to me, the main reasons behind not attaining the export target for FY13 are political unrest and the two tragic incidents of Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse within six months. These put heavy pressure on the country, caused an image crisis abroad, and created challenges for exporters,” he said.
Murshedy, also a former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said international buyers are also under pressure for these reasons, while the labour unrest in and around the capital, especially in Ashulia, has made the ready-made garments industry lose its competitive edge.
Asked about the challenges ahead in the current fiscal year for the government and garment industry owners, he said although it is an election year, he hoped there would be political stability for the sake of the export-oriented sector.
The EAB president suggested immediate policy support to the exporters, initiating prompt steps to form a garment ‘palli’ (village) and starting work on special economic zones.
He also expressed the hope that the US government would restore the suspended GSP facilities in due time, as both the government and stakeholders are sincerely pursuing this end, he said.
According to EPB statistics for the last fiscal year, woven garments fetched the bulk of export earnings with $11.04bn, which represents a moderate 14.96% growth over the same period last fiscal year; knitwear accounted for $10.48bn, with a growth of 10.43%.
During the July-June period of FY13, the export of home textiles totalled $791.52m falling by 12.64%; footwear exports fetched $419.32m; primary commodities brought $1.08bn; frozen foods including frozen fish, shrimps and others totalled $543.84m; and agricultural products earned $535.74m.
Of the other major performing commodities, fruit exports totalled $71.89m with a 25.77% growth; computer services (July-May) came to $92.53m, having 30.67% growth; cement, salt and stone brought $6.15m, while tea export accounted for $2.44m with a 27.81% fall.
The export trend for leather and leather products maintained their upward trend during the July-June period of last fiscal year. Leather exports totalled $399.73m, while leather products brought $161.62m, cotton and cotton products together earned $124.96m, plastic products $84.51m and rubber fetched $13.57m.
The export of jute and jute goods during the FY13 increased to $1,03bn, registering a 6.54% growth. Raw jute exports fetched $229.92m with a 13.65% decline, jute yarn and twine $506.74m, and other items brought some $56.53m. Jute sacks and bags, however, notched a growth of 26.18% as exports totalled $237.42m.
Engineering products, including iron and steel, bicycle and electronic products fetched almost $367.47m. Engineering equipment fetched $48.73m with a fall of 1.64%.
The export of man-made filaments and staple fibres totalled $101.45m, while the export of ships, boats and floating structures fetched $5.73m, suffering an 87.53% fall.
The export of handicrafts totalled $6.16m, while paper and paper products $33.73m, furniture $31.41m, chemical products $93.01m (including pharmaceuticals worth $59.82m), while ores, slag and ash brought $22.37m.
Specialised textiles, including terry towels, showed a negative growth of 10.27%, earning $124.52m during the last fiscal year, while the export of petroleum by-products accounted for just $313.95m.
Meanwhile, silk export notched an eye-catching 1700% growth fetching $0.18m, followed by the export of building materials at $1.91m with 496.88% growth.
