Exports still in choppy waters
Export earnings fell 5.84 percent year-on-year to $19.3 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year mainly because of lower shipment of apparel items.
The receipt between July and December was also 12.77 percent lower than the half-yearly target of $22.12 billion. Of the six months, shipment rose only in July and December, data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed.
Export rebounded in December with Bangladesh fetching $3.52 billion in the month, registering a 2.89 percent year-on-year growth.
In the first half, the shipment of apparel, which usually makes up more than 80 percent of national exports, fell 6.21 percent to $16.02 billion.
Knitwear exports were down 5.16 percent to $8.20 billion and woven declined 7.28 percent to $7.81 billion.
However, export earnings from apparel items improved a bit in December in comparison to November.
But the increase in December does not signify that the sector is turning around as such, said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
“December and January are peak months anyway and compared to that, we haven’t had any significant gain,” Huq told The Daily Star in a WhatsApp message.
The first two weeks of December remained negative while the second half picked up slightly.
“I am strongly stressing on one point: We are losing competitiveness. And we won’t be able to sustain the general expectation of riding on high tides lest we have policy support,” Huq said.
The shipment of leather and leather goods, the second highest export earner after garments, kept up a falling trend, weighed down by lower global demand and lower production at tanneries.
Between July and December, export earnings from leather and leather goods fell 10.61 percent to $475.83 million.
“There is little possibility of a rebound for export of leather and leather goods over the next two years as the demand for non-leather goods is on the rise worldwide,” said Md Shaheen Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tanners Association.
Non-leather goods are comfortable and less expensive compared to leather goods, he said.
Major leather and leather goods-producing countries such as India and China also faced negative export growth last year. Only Vietnam achieved 13 percent growth.
According to Ahmed, all the tanneries at the Savar leather estate are not fully ready to tan rawhide. So far, 125 out of 155 units have gone into production.
Because of a lack of the vital Leather Working Group certification, Bangladesh receives one of the lowest prices from international buyers from the sales of leather items.
Frozen and live fish exports declined 7.7 percent to $290.5 million between July and December. The export of cement, specialised textiles, home textile, and terry towel also declined.
