After maintaining a healthy export trend to its two top export destinations- United States and the United Kingdom in the last financial year, Bangladesh’s exports to these two countries witnessed a decline in the first quarter of the current financial year (2016-17) due to what many consider a downward trend in the demand for RMG items in these markets.
According to experts and garment exporters, shipment suspension during long holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha coupled with a slump in demand for RMG products in US and UK markets resulted in the negative growth, reported a daily newspaper of Bangladesh recently.
As per Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, the total export in the July-September period of FY ‘17 from US fell by 10 per cent to US $ 1.40 billion from US $ 1.55 billion in the same period of FY ‘16 while RMG export to the US market in the July-September period of FY ‘17 fell by 12.04 per cent to US $ 1.26 billion compared to US $ 1.43 billion in the same period of FY ‘16.
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The scenario is almost similar as far as UK is concerned. Total export to the UK, the third largest destination, declined by 2.47 per cent to US $ 843.78 million in the first quarter of FY ‘17 from US $ 867.60 million in the same period of FY ‘16, while RMG export to the UK in the first quarter of FY ‘17 decreased by 2.23 per cent to US $ 780.52 million from US $ 798.37 million in the same period of FY16.
According to Additional Research Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Brexit could have been one of the reasons for the negative export growth in the UK (even though the influence of the issue was yet to be considered ‘that strong’) while as per former President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, export earnings in US and UK markets witnessed negative growth in the first quarter of this fiscal year as it was the transitional period of the export season.
“There were ups and downs in the US economy and a slow growth in the overall demand was prevailing in the market,” stated Khondaker, while Anwar-ul-Alam on his part maintained, “There is no reason to be panicked as the earnings would rebound after the start of the new season in October.” Alam further added suspension of shipments during long holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr in the month of July and for Eid-ul-Azha in the month of September resulted in negative export growth in some big markets.
