Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall export earnings grew by 3.22 per cent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year despite slowdown in the US economic growth.
The export earnings rose to US$22.84 billion during the July-February period of the fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 from $22.12 billion in the same period of the FY 16, according to statistics from the state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), released on Wednesday.
The earnings during the period under review fell 5.08 per cent short of the period’s target of $ 24.06 billion set by the government earlier.
On the other hand, the export earnings fell by 4.49 per cent to $2.73 billion in the month of February last from $3.85 billion a year ago.
RMG exports increased by 2.82 per cent to $18.64 billion during the period under review from $18.13 billion in the same period of the FY 16, the EPB data showed.
The woven garment exports grew by 0.83 per cent to $9.56 billion during the first eight months, from $9.48billion in the same period of the FY 16, while knitwear exports increased by 5.01 per cent to $9.08 billion from $8.64 billion.
Slower economic growth in the United States and depreciation of the Great Britain Pound (GBP) might have impacted on the overall export earnings of Bangladesh, according to experts and exporters.
They also suggested the government for taking effective initiatives for increasing competitiveness to retain the market share particularly in the US and the United Kingdom.
BBN/SSR/SK