The government may fix an ambitious export target of USD 30.457 billion for the next fiscal (2013-14) year, despite the global economic slowdown that has pulled down the country’s export growth below the expected level in the outgoing fiscal year. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the government agency that is responsible for promoting the country’s exports, has proposed the next fiscal’s export target, which is 12.53 per cent or USD 2.457 bn more than the outgoing fiscal year’s target of USD 28 bn.
The target was placed at a meeting of the EPB last week, where exporters of knitwear and woven garments, which account for some 80 per cent of the country’s shipments, agreed to the government’s projection, subject to facilities being provided, including development of infrastructural facilities. All other
stakeholders, including representatives of the central bank, line ministries, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and various trade and chamber bodies, attended the meeting.
According to sources, the target was fixed in line with the national budget. It also kept in mind the ongoing global recession, the exchange rate of foreign currency, increasing production costs and competition in the world’s export markets.
“We have placed the proposal after taking into consideration the growth of merchandise shipments in the last few years, including the performance in the July-May period of the current fiscal, after holding discussions with the exporters,” said an EPB official. The EPB, sources said, will soon send the proposal to the ministry of commerce, which will finally fix the target.
For the upcoming fiscal year, export earnings of all 21 major products, except petroleum products, have been projected to grow further. The growth in the export of knitwear products has been projected at 11 per cent, woven garments 13 per cent, jute and jute goods 15.23 per cent, computer services 50 per cent and handicrafts 20 per cent.
Bangladesh’s export performance during the last 11 months registered a remarkable growth despite the global recession, said EPB officials, who expressed their optimism that the new target would be achieved. But private sector entrepreneurs tempered their optimism about the achievement of the target, which they said is quite an ambitious one against the backdrop of the global meltdown and political uncertainties in the country.
A series of tragic incidents, including the collapse of Rana Plaza and the fire at Tazreen Fashions, which battered the country’s readymade garments (RMG) industry in recent days, may also have an adverse impact on the country’s overall export performance, especially in the coming years, industry sources said.
At the moment, the country is experiencing a serious image crisis following the tragic incidents in the RMG sector. Political uncertainties and frequent hartal calls, accompanied by underdeveloped infrastructure, have seriously affected the country’s trade and business.
Businesspersons, however, opined that the target may be achieved if the government can ensure a congenial atmosphere and a stable political situation. “If the government can deal with the situation, overcome the political stalemate and help us build the country’s positive image abroad, it is not impossible to achieve the target,” said Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice president Mohammed Hatem.
To achieve the target, representatives of the apparel industry, who attended the meeting, demanded development of infrastructure, uninterrupted gas and electricity supplies, measures to remove traffic snarls as well as easy shipment of export items and tightening of security in factories following the frequent incidents of labour unrest, which have forced the owners to shut down their manufacturing units on many occasions.
According to sources, the performance of major export-oriented sectors, especially the apparel sector, contributed substantially to increasing the country’s aggregate export earnings during the last 11 months of the current fiscal.
Although exports of knitwear declined at the beginning of the current fiscal year, the overall situation has reversed since the second quarter. Besides, the exports of woven items increased gradually in the current fiscal year after new criteria were formulated about rules of origin in the European Union (EU) and different pragmatic steps were taken by the government, official sources said.
-With The Independent input
