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The government has fixed the merchandise export target for FY23 at $58 billion, which is 11.36 per cent higher than the real export earnings of the last fiscal.
In FY22, Bangladesh’s export earnings rose by 34.38 per cent to $52 billion, of which 42.61 billion, or 81.81 per cent, came from the RMG sector.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi unveiled data, both for merchandise and services sectors, for the current fiscal year at a press conference at his secretariat office in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The export target from the services sectors for fiscal 2022-23 has been fixed at $9 billion, which is 12.5 per cent higher than the actual earnings from the services sectors in the last fiscal year.
The minister also mentioned that the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict was considered while fixing the export targets for the current fiscal year.
However, the minister also expressed hopes that the target will be achieved as international buyers have been placing work orders in Bangladesh even in the face of a volatile global situation.
Last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $52.08 billion from merchandise shipments, which was 19.73 per cent higher than the target of $43.5 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Similarly, some $8 billion was earned from the services sectors against the target of $7.5 billion, which is 6.67 per cent higher than the target.
Overall, both the merchandise and services sectors earned $60.08 billion last fiscal year, registering a 17.8 per cent growth over its target of $51 billion, the EPB data also said.
“The coronavirus pandemic triggered an economic slowdown that lasted almost two years. But the purchasing power of importing countries has improved as they transitioned out of the crisis, which in turn has resulted in unprecedented export growth,” said Tipu Munshi.
Defying adversity and soaring raw material prices, the readymade garment (RMG) sector, the largest earner, contributed 81.81 per cent of the national exports.
Of the target, $47 billion will come from the country’s apparel sector, which is over 81.03 per cent of the total merchandise export target. The growth target for the RMG sector is 10.30 per cent.
Of the total, $25.60 billion is expected from knitwear and $21.40 billion from woven products, and the expected growth rate is 10.28 per cent and 10.32 per cent respectively.
In FY22, export earnings from RMG products rose sharply by 35.47 per cent to $42.61 billion, which was $31.45 billion in the previous year.
Of the $42.61 billion, knitwear products fetched $23.21 billion, up by 36.88 per cent from last fiscal year’s $19.91 billion, while woven items earned $19.39 billion, registering a 33.82 per cent growth.
Meanwhile, the government has to set the export target at $1.3 billion for leather and leather goods, $1.3 billion for agricultural products, $1.8 billion for home textiles, $1.2 billion for jute and jute goods, $964 million for engineering products, $604 million for frozen and live fish, and $200 million for bicycles.
