The country's apparel export earnings reached USD 38.57 billion during the July-April period of FY 2022-23, that is 9.09 percent higher over that in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The information was revealed by the latest data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) on Wednesday.
Category-wise exports of various categories of Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector shows that knitwear exports reached USD 20.96 billion, while knitted garments exports accounted for USD 17.60 billion and knitwear and knitted exports registered a year-on-year growth of 8.97 percent and 9.24 percent respectively, which indicate a steady growth in the overall Bangladesh export earnings.
Director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Mohiuddin Rubel told Bangladesh Post that our RMG exports reached USD 38.57 billion during the July-April of 2022-23 fiscal year, reflecting a 9.09 percent increase compared to the same time period in the previous fiscal year.
Despite the overall positive trend in exports, a detailed analysis of the single month figures reveals a recent decline in the growth of apparel exports.
The country's apparel exports declined significantly by 15.48 percent in April 2023, amounting to USD 3.32 billion, compared to April 2022. These figures of decline in exports together indicate a downward trend in exports in recent months which contrasts with the positive trend during the period in FY 2022-23.
Regarding this, the BGMEA director said that the country's RMG exports observed a significant decline of 15.48 percent in April, amounting to a significant loss compared to April last year. The amalgamation of these declines contributed to the overall descending trend in recent months, which stands in contrast to the otherwise positive trajectory for the mentioned period in 2022-23 fiscal year.
The EPB updated figure on export earnings shows that in the 10th month of the current fiscal year (July-April), USD 4567 crore worth of goods have been exported. At this time last year, the exports were worth USD 4334 crore. That is, compared to the first 10 months of the last financial year, the export of goods has increased by 5.38 percent.
Regardless of the overall positive trend, Mohiuddin Rubel further said that it will be possible to achieve the export earnings target in this sector if at least USD 4.3 billion worth of products are exported in the next 2 months (each month).