Export earnings rose six times year-on-year to hit $3.13 billion in April this year thanks to the rebound of apparel shipment with the reopening of the US and European economies.
In April last year, the export figure was only $0.52 billion, the lowest in the history of Bangladesh. Of the amount, only $0.37 billion came from apparel shipment, the country’s biggest export earning sector.
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The countrywide lockdown and shutdown of most of the factories after the Covid-19 outbreak did the damage last year. Workers and factory owners were in the confusion whether the factories would be reopened or not.
Despite posting an abnormal hike, export earnings of April this year is still 6.44 per cent below the monthly target of $3.35 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.
In the first 10 months to April this fiscal year, export receipt from garment shipment also increased by 6.24 per cent year-on-year to $26 billion, showing resilience against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the total earnings from the garment sector, some $13.99 billion came from shipment of knitwear items, registering a 15.34 percent year-on-year positive growth, while earnings from woven shipment fell 2.71 per cent year-on-year to $12 billion.
The demand for casual knitwear items continued increasing keeping pace with their shipment even during the crisis moment, as people were staying at home for longer periods.
