Export to India declined by 29.42 per cent to $91.75 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from that of $129.99 million in the same period of the FY 2012-13 due to deprecation of the rupee against the US dollar, exporters and experts said. The Export Promotion Bureau data showed that the export of readymade garments to the neighbouring country increased in the period, but the export of fruits and fruit products, fish and jute and jute products decreased drastically.
EPB vice-chairman Shubhashish Bose said the overall demand in India decreased due to the devaluation of the rupee against the US dollar which reflected on the export of Bangladesh to the country.
‘On the other hand, we are discouraging export of any raw product including jute. So the export of jute and jute products to India has declined.’
In a bid to diversify products and markets, the government is encouraging exporters for value addition as the process also generates employment, Shubhashish added.
Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman, however, said that not the depreciation of the rupee but the slowdown of economic growth of India was the key reason for the decrease in the Bangladeshi export to the country.
‘The Indian economy witnessed a slowdown of growth that impacted on the overall demand in the country,’ he told New Age.
The export of fish and fish products in the first quarter of FY 2013-14 decreased to $67,302 from that of $2.4 million in the same period of the last fiscal year as the fish export to India was suspended
in August through the Akhaura land port.
Indian businessmen were reluctant to import fish due to declining value of the rupee against the dollar.
The export of vegetable, textile fibres nes, paper yarn, and woven fabric in the first quarter of FY 2013-14 dropped to $11.10 million from that of $18.86 million in the same period of last year.
Jute and jute products worth $111.75 million were exported to the neighbouring country in the first quarter of the FY 2013-14 while the export of the same items in the same period of FY 2012-13 was $340.82 million in worth.
Exporters Association of Bangladesh president Abdus Salam Murshedi said the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar was the main reason for the drop in the Bangladeshi export to India.
Despite economic slowdown, readymade garments export to India has increased as there is a huge demand for Bangladeshi garments, he said.
The export of readymade garments to India in the first quarter increased to $30.90 million against $21.79 million in the same period of last fiscal year.
Courtesy of New Age
