Apparel leads export revival

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Earnings from merchandise exports grew by 3.53 % year-on-year to attain $3.01 billion in September because of a growing number of orders for garment items, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) released yesterday.

Export receipts for September were also 5.92 per cent greater than the monthly target of $2.85 billion, the info showed.

Besides, within the first three months of the ongoing fiscal year from July, export earnings returned to a positive position as merchandise shipments grew by 2.58 % year-on-year to $9.89 billion.

Apparel shipments, which typically makes up about about 84 per cent of Bangladesh's export basket, grew by 0.85 % year-on-year to $8.12 billion between July and September, which is 2.09 per cent higher than the $7.96 billion target.

Of the full total export income from garments, about $4.46 billion originated from knitwear products, a 7.04 % increase in comparison with the sector's earnings from the corresponding period this past year.


On the other hand, woven products were unable to perform well as the sector's export earnings slumped to $3.88 billion between July and September, a 5.78 % decline compared to the same period last fiscal year, the EPB data said.

Garment shipments have been gradually increasing as international retailers have been reissuing work orders that had either been cancelled or deferred between April and June as part of the coronavirus fallout.

"Sales to major markets gained some momentum during the past 8 weeks but price-wise, it really is still havoc," said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

International retailers and brands cancelled work orders for garment items totalling about $3.18 billion in value through the April-June period this season, according to the BGMEA data.

But with stores in the European Union, US and Canada slowly beginning to reopen, those buyers have started reissuing cancelled work orders, according to various exporters.

Therefore, earnings from garment shipments have already been steadily increasing.

However, since local spinners can supply raw materials quickly, the frequency of shipments for knitwear products is greater than that of woven.

Currently, about 60 % of the raw materials used to make woven products are created from imported fabrics whereas local spinners and weavers can supply 90 per cent of the fabrics needed by the knitwear sector.

This is a big lead time advantage for the knitwear sector, the exporters added.

The country's exports remain in an excellent position since it is rebounding alongside the reopening of stores in the western world, said Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, managing director of Rising Group, a leading garment exporter.

If the export figures for garment items remain positive in October, then it could be said that the sector has recovered substantially, he added.

The US may be the single greatest export destination for Bangladesh as a lot more than $6 billion worth of products, 90 per cent which are garment items, are shipped to the united states each year.

In regards to to previously cancelled work orders, Babu, also a former BGMEA president, said most international retailers and branks are taking back those orders.

However, it might take until next March to clear all previous work orders as the process has been slow.

Meanwhile, local suppliers have already been settling their payment issues with international buyers through various means. Using cases, suppliers are accepting payments in instalments.

But the possibility of another wave of coronavirus infections over the EU and US through the upcoming winter is another way to obtain concern for suppliers as international demand could fall again therefore, he added.

Textile shipments ballooned by 40.74 % to $252.35 million while frozen and live fish exports grew by 5.11 % to $131.6 million year-on-year in the July-September period of the ongoing fiscal, the EPB data also showed.

In case of jute goods, it was a rise by 39.26 % to $307.55 million while for pharmaceutical shipments 20.90 % to $42.17 million.

In the same period, shipments of leather, leather goods and leather footwear decreased by 11.49 per cent year-on-year to $225.15 million.  
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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