This Star file photo shows a female garment worker sewing a shirt at a garment factory in Dhaka. Bangladesh garment units saw several disasters in recent months, with the latest one on April 24 which left 1,131 people dead.
Garment exports grew by 22.11 percent to $2.53 billion in the month of May compared to the previous month, on the back of higher demand for garment items, jute and jute goods.
In April export was recorded at $2.07 billion.
It however was still 3.54 percent less than the targeted at $2.63 billion export, according to data from the state-owned Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
In year-on-year comparison, export earning recorded at 15.43 percent rise in the month of May compared with the corresponding period of last May, the data showed.
Vice-chairman of EPB Shubhashish Bose attributed the export growth to rising export trend to new destinations, export diversification and price competitiveness compared with other peer countries.
“The trend is still good, despite some odds like hartals and building collapse. I hope the export will also increase in June,” Bose told The Daily Star by phone.
The periodic data also showed a positive growth trend. During July-May period of the current fiscal year (2012-13) country’s exports grew by 10.67 percent to $24.32 billion compared with the same period of the last fiscal. The target for July-May period was fixed at 25.16 billion, the data showed.
Of the major products, Bangladesh exported knitwear worth $9.40 billion and woven garments worth $9.92 billion in the July-May period registering a year on year growth at 9.56 percent and 14.10 percent.
During the July-May period, Bangladesh exported jute and jute goods worth $947.91million against the periodic target at $972.80 million registering at growth at 6.57 percent from the corresponding period of last fiscal.
The bad impact of political violence and some accidents in the garment sector could be understood at least three months later, said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), garment makers’ platform,
The international buyers are now negotiating the prices now for the next spring season.
“We are expecting a stable situation after the next general election,” he added.
Source: The Daily Star
