The government on Wednesday set the export target at $30.5 billion for the ongoing fiscal year 2013-14 with 12.84 per cent growth over the last fiscal year, commerce ministry officials said.
The commerce ministry fixed the target at a meeting held at the ministry with officials from different government ministries and representatives from exporters’ associations, they said.
Trade experts said that the target was fixed against the backdrop of latest situation in international market due to several accidents at garment factories such as Rana Plaza collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers, mostly women that resulted in GSP suspension by the United States.
The ongoing political crisis and infrastructure shortage in the country and recession in European Union also contributed to such lower growth target, they said.
The industry is also facing several problems including insufficient infrastructure, shortage of power and prolonged political unrest, they added.
The government had set export target at $28 billion with more than 15 per cent growth for FY 2012-13 but at the end of the year the country’s export earnings fell $1 billion short of the target standing at $27.01 billion with 11.22 per cent growth, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.
‘Though there are some challenges like probable appreciation of the Taka against the US Dollar, slow recovery process of EU economy in achieving the government-set target, I think it is achievable,’ Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman told New Age on Wednesday.
Woven and knitwear exports will continue to do well in the year, he hoped.
He said, ‘The government will be able to face the setback emerged due to Rana Plaza collapse and other related issues, if it solves the problems properly.’
Bangladesh will also have to emphasise on diversification in products and markets in the year to boost the export growth, he said.
Explaining the government decision to lower the export growth target, he said that the government probably wanted to achieve the target setting it in line with the export trend experienced in the past fiscal year, political unrest in the country and global recession instead of adopting an ambitious target.
The meeting presided over by commerce secretary Mahbub Ahmed decided to emphasise on apparel products which account for about 80 per cent of the country’s export earnings, agricultural products, leather and leather products, jute and jute products and shrimp export to achieve the target. The government will also encourage exporters from other sectors to take pro-active initiative to boost export of their products.
Mahbub, however, citing the gradual growth of export earnings in the last few years, expressed hope that the growth would continue to increase in the current fiscal year.
He sought cooperation and support from the exporters and other stakeholders in achieving the target.
Exporters, however, demanded that the government should solve the existing problems so that they can achieve the export target set for respective sectors, said a statement issued by the ministry after the meeting.
Leaders of different exporters associations demanded for immediate development of communication infrastructure, increase supply of gas and power, improve port facilities and removal of setbacks exporters are facing in exports to different countries, it said.
The commerce secretary assured the exporters for solving the problems with utmost importance, the statement said.
For the fiscal year, all the major export products have been projected to grow including top export items like woven and knitwear products.
The ministry set a target to earn $12.57 billion with 13.87 per cent growth from woven garment export, $11.58 billion with 10.50 per cent growth from knitwear, $1.16 billion with 12.89 per cent growth from jute and jute goods, $831.10 million with 5 per cent growth from
home textiles, $545.12 million with 30 per cent growth from footwear, $578.77 million with 6.42 per cent growth from frozen foods, $643.78 million with 20.17 per cent growth from agricultural products, $407.11 million with 10.79 per cent growth from engineering products and $132.21 million with 6.17 per cent growth from specialised textiles products export.
The government has also set the target to earn $154.45 million with 50 per cent growth by exporting of computer services, $210.11 million with 30 per cent growth from leather and leather goods, $42.21 million with 12 per cent growth from ceramics products, $6.30 million with 10 per cent growth from ship and boats, $89.46 million with 5.86 per cent growth from export of plastic items.
Although the export earnings fell 3.51 per cent short of target of $28 billion in the FY 13, knitwear export grew by 10.43 per cent in the FY 13 to $ 10.47 billion from $9.48 billion in the FY 12 when the growth figure was 0.05 per cent.
The export of woven garments grew by 14.96 per cent to $11.03 billion in the FY 13 from $9.60 billion in the FY 12 with a growth figure of 13.89 per cent.
Commerce ministry additional secretary Ruhul Amin Sarker, Amitava Chakraborty, Monoj Kumar Roy, EPB vice-chairman Shubhashish Bose, representatives from finance ministry, foreign ministry, jute and textile ministry, agriculture ministry, National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, leather goods and footwear exporters association, among others, were present at the meeting.
-With New Age input
