Bangladesh exports increase 15% amid pandemic in fiscal year 2020-21

Although the country missed the 5.5% target, the growth has raised hopes among exporters with factories opened as part of a nationwide lockdown to curb a rise in deadly infections.

After the pandemic hit exports in a locked-down world during the second half of 2019-2020, the whole of FY21 has passed through the pandemic crisis, much of which in an effort to recover from the effects of the epidemic.

“We, the owners and the workers, continued the production with courage although the situation is worse than last year,” said Faruque Hassan, president of the BGMEA clothing exporters association, recalling the long shutdown of the factories. Last year.

“The government has also continued to support it. It can therefore be said that the growth in export earnings is a sign of the pandemic’s turnaround. “

The ready-to-wear industry, which accounts for over 80 percent of total exports, posted growth of 12.55 percent covering losses in recent months, but the sector’s exports still lag by 7 , 84 percent from the level before the 2018 pandemic. -19, he said. Inexpensive mesh products, however, have returned to their normal level as Bangladeshi entrepreneurs receive orders from reopened markets in Europe and the United States, he said.

Bangladesh’s export earnings in June were $ 3.67 billion, an increase of 31.77 percent from the same month last year, according to the latest data released Monday by the Promotion Office. of exports.

The RMG sector’s contribution to exports fell to 81.16% in the last fiscal year, from 84.2% in 2018-19.

The BGMEA president said that this also bodes well for product diversification, noting that the jute, home textiles and leather industries have shown robust growth.