Bangladesh exports up 9% in May on garment sales

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jun 6, 2018

Bangladeshi exports grew by 9.01 percent year-on-year to $3.32 billion in May riding on the higher shipment of garment items, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) revealed this week, despite missing the monthly target of $3.38 billion.

From July to May, the first 11 months of the 2017-18 financial year, total exports rose 6.7 percent to $33.7 billion from a year earlier, said the EPB.

Garment exports, the main driver of growth, grew by 9.77 percent year-on-year to $28.12 billion in the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

​The exporting of clothes, which makes up more than 80% of Bangladeshi shipments, were pushed on by an increase in the sale high-value items and the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar, according to exporters.

For the 11-month period, knitwear exports rose by 11.48 percent to $13.94 billion. Woven garments exports were up by 8.15 percent to $14.18 billion, said the EPB.

Looking ahead, the EPB forecast better-than-expected export levels for the current year, despite export growth in the apparel sector in June predicted to be a little less. 

“At the end of the year, we will be able to export more than the target set for the current fiscal year at $30.16 billion,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

In recent months, garment export to the US is declining as China, India and Vietnam are performing well to the US markets.

Growth is expected from July onward as local manufacturers have a handful of work orders, added BGMEA president.