Export Earnings Pass $17 Billion in Four Months, Growing 6 Percent

Bangladesh's merchandise exports reached 17.04 billion US dollars in the four months from July to October this year. Exports in the same period a year earlier were 16.08 billion dollars. On that count, exports rose by about 960 million dollars, a growth rate of about 6 percent.

Bangladesh Bank released the figures in a press release on Sunday. The release said the ready-made garment sector made the main contribution to export growth during the period.

Knitwear exports rose 7 percent during the period to 7.71 billion dollars. Woven garment exports rose 4.8 percent to 6.00 billion dollars.

Knitwear and woven garments together accounted for about 80.4 percent of total exports. According to Bangladesh Bank, about 81 percent of the overall export increase came from the ready-made garment sector.

Several sectors outside garments also grew. Exports of jute and jute goods rose 23.8 percent to 383 million dollars.

Leather and leather goods exports rose 12.7 percent to 464 million dollars. Chemical product exports rose 27.3 percent to 157 million dollars.

Home textile exports rose 7.4 percent and footwear exports rose 9.7 percent. The figures said growth in these sectors pointed to expansion beyond garments.

The picture was not the same in every sector, however. Agricultural product exports fell 13.5 percent. Frozen and live fish exports fell 10.9 percent, and cotton and cotton product exports fell 10.2 percent.

According to the release, sustaining this export trend will require improving product quality and competitiveness, expanding into new markets, and identifying and addressing the obstacles facing the lagging sectors.