Export earnings from apparel items fallen by 5.71% in July-January 2019-20 period in comparison to July-January 2018-19.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, earnings from RMG (Ready-made Garments) export for Export performance (Goods) for FY 2019-20 July-January is USD19.06 billion.
Earning from woven garments fell by 6.29% to $9.44 billion in July-January of FY2019-20 from $10.07 billion in the same period of last fiscal year. On the other hand, knitwear export fell by 5.13% to $9.62 billion from $10.14 billion.
“December and January are supposed to be peak months and we haven’t picked up yet as the problems, the industry is facing, still exist,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Rubana Huq said.
She said that prices of products had not gone up after the minimum wage hike and the sector continued having problems of overcapacity accompanied by a strong currency.
“I am afraid if the anti-export bias and a few perceptions of us having sufficient support do not end, we will continue to be where we are and may expect worse,” Rubana said.
Mohammad Hatem, first Vice-President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, blamed low prices of RMG products and decreased procurement by the buyers for the negative export growth.
He also expressed that the Bangladesh RMG sector imported 60 percent of its raw materials from China and if the outbreak disrupted supply chain, the country’s (Bangladesh) export would be affected badly for coronavirus outbreak. .
China extended its New Year holidays for two more weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak and the extended holidays might a cause for the shipment delay or air shipment of export goods for Bangladesh.
He also said that the virus outbreak might be an opportunity for Bangladesh to grab more share in the global market as buyers might search alternative sourcing.
The home textile export fell by 9.7% to $442.67 million in the period from $490.2 million in the same period of last fiscal year.
On the other hand, jute and jute goods export witnessed a 20.82% leap compared to the same period of last fiscal year. The sector earned $602.49 million July-January of FY2019-20 from $498.66 million in the same period of last fiscal year.
