Export earnings from Bangladesh’s garment industry, which is its highest foreign currency earner and also considered a life line of its economy, reflect a meagre growth rate in 2016-17 fiscal year, the lowest in the last 15 years.
Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter, has recorded only 0.20 per cent growth, earning US $ 28.15 billion from garment exports in the period under review. However, the overall export revenue of Bangladesh settled at US $ 34.83 billion in FY 2016-17, up by 1.68 percent from US $ 34.25 billion in the previous year.
According to provisional data issued by Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), of the total revenue earned from garment exports, revenue from knitwear exports stood at US $ 13.76 billion, which is 3 per cent higher than US $ 13.35 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue from export of woven products fetched US $ 14.39 billion, down by 2.35 per cent as compared to US $ 14.73 billion in FY 2015-16.
Industry experts and garment manufacturers have cited average fall in prices of products, decreased buying capacity of the export destinations, sluggish global economy and remediation of factories as the main reasons behind the slow growth rate.
Speaking to Apparel Resources, some garment manufacturers have also blamed lack of product diversification, substandard infrastructure and shortage of utility supplies for the lacklustre growth of the Bangladesh apparel industry which aims to increase annual export earnings to US $ 50 billion by the year 2021.
