The country’s export earnings in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year 2013-14 stood at $27.37 billion, 0.21 per cent short of the target due to a weak earning growth in May, showed the data released by Export Promotion Bureau on Sunday.
Despite setbacks in jute exports, the readymade garments pushed up the year-on-year earnings in the first 11 months by 12.56 per cent.
The export earnings in July-May in the last fiscal year 2012-2013 were $24.32 billion with a year-on-year growth of 10.67 per cent.
The government set export earnings target of $27.43 billion for the period of July-May this fiscal year.
Till April, the 10-month export earning was well on course of achieving the target but a poultry 7.22 per cent growth in May dampened the figure for 11 months.
With the current earnings trend and only one month, June, remaining in the year, the government might miss the annual export target of $30.50 billion by a whisker, said EPB officials.
The country’s export earnings in May were $2.72 billion, 5.45 per cent short of the target for the month.
Economists said that even after missing the target, the export growth of 12.56 per cent in 11 months of the financial year, which was hit by political unrest over the national elections, was relatively better.
‘The RMG products still maintained a modest growth in exports and the overall export growth remained steady riding on the RMG products,’ Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur told New Age on Sunday.
He said that the export earnings in May witnessed a poor growth but it might rebound in the month of June and then the gap would be filled up.
‘I think, at end of the fiscal year, the export earnings will reach close to the government-set target of $30.50 billion,’ Ahsan said.
The export earnings may fall short of the target by $200-$300 million, he added.
According to the EPB data of July-May of the FY14, woven garments accounted for $11.25 billion in earnings with a 13.46-per cent growth.
Although the woven exports grew by13.46 per cent, its earnings fell by 0.43 per cent short of the target of $11.30 billion.
‘It is normal (falling short of the target) as national and international safety assessments have been taking place in the RMG sector and the sector is now in a transitional period,’ former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez said.
He said that the export earnings growth in woven products might fall in the coming days as some factories had already become closed due to safety inspection and more would be closed.
‘We will have to wait up to completion of the ongoing safety assessment for a sustainable growth as customers now feel confused in placing order due to safety ground and many orders have been shifted to other countries,’ Anwar-ul said.
The export earnings from knitwear in the July-May period of the FY14 grew by 16.28 per cent to $10.91 billion.
The export earnings from jute and jute goods including raw jute, jute yarn and twine, jute sacks and bags and others, however, posted a negative growth of 20.21 per cent to $756.34 million from $947.91 million.
Leather exports grew by 29.11 per cent to $468.63 million from $362.97 million.
Footwear exports rose by 30.78 per cent to $493.76 million and exports of leather products increased by 59.87 per cent to $218.13 million.
Frozen foods export grew by 18.19 per cent to $578.44 million from $489.40 million.
The agricultural products including tea, vegetables, tobacco, cut flower and foliage, fruits, spices and dry food fetched $551.48 million with a 14.15-per cent growth.
The export earnings from the specialised textiles totalled at $100.49 million with a 12.18-per cent negative growth while home textiles fetched $728.91 million with a 0.96-per cent growth.
The export earnings from engineering products including iron, steel, copper wire, stainless steel ware, engineering equipment, electric products and bicycle totalled at $336.95 million with a 1.76-per cent negative growth.
-With New Age input
