Home ›› 16 Sep 2022 ›› Front
Amid the global economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh experienced 34.49 per cent growth in earnings from service exports in FY22 year-on-year, which was 18.51 per cent higher than the target.
In this period, the country exported $8.89 billion of services, which was led by government, transportation, construction, and computer services, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Bangladesh exported $6.61 billion of services in FY21, and the government set the export target at $7.5 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
However, despite this excellent performance in the last fiscal year, the commerce ministry set $9 billion as the earnings target for FY23 considering the ongoing global economic crisis.
Industry people and experts claimed that Bangladesh could earn more foreign currency by exporting services if the government took proper initiatives.
They also claimed that the country may earn billions of dollars from tourism and computer service exports if it makes a long-term master plan and improves tourism facilities.
The EPB data shows that Bangladesh’s transportation sector earned $1.75 billion in the last fiscal year, which was the highest amount and up 105.49 per cent compared to FY21. The country exported $852 million of transportation services in this period.
Bangladesh’s air service export earnings rose from $480 million in FY21 to $918 million in FY22 while sea transport service earnings increased from $366 million to $827 million during the same period.
Insiders said earnings from this sector rose due to high freight and air fares as well as the addition of some new air and sea carriers.
Stakeholders claimed that the country’s foreign trade is growing day by day but the number of carriers running on international routes and owned by Bangladeshi companies has not increased accordingly.
The government has already declared incentives against earnings from shipping lines, which will help earn more foreign currency from the sector.
Earnings from tourism, an emerging sector in the country, failed to meet expectations despite huge opportunities. The sector’s earnings were down by 25.6 per cent to $64.68 million in the last fiscal year, which was $87 million in FY21.
Bangladesh Tourism Board claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic had hit hard the countries that Bangladesh mostly gets tourists from, which is why the sector failed to perform as expected. It said the government is working on a master plan to attract foreign tourists.
“We are working to develop the required infrastructure and create skilled manpower as well as on capacity building. Changes will not come overnight. However, we expect that the sector will earn a big amount of foreign currency after a few years,” Rahnuma Salam Khan, deputy director (international relations) of Bangladesh Tourism Board, told The Business Post.
Bangladesh’s export earnings from computer-related services, including software, IT enabled services, consultancy and equipment maintenance, nearly doubled to $592 million in FY22, thanks to circumstances triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and cash incentives.
The sector’s income rose by 94.91 per cent year-on-year. Industry insiders and experts attributed this stellar export growth to the Covid-19 pandemic as it created a big demand for IT enabled services among people who needed to work remotely.
The government’s cash incentives against the exports of IT services also boosted overall earnings.
“The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies due to social distancing measures and the option to work remotely,” eGeneration Managing Director Shameem Ahsan told The Business Post. eGeneration works for an American company.
During FY22, construction service export earnings rose by 45.59 per cent to $1.08 billion, which was $743 million in FY21.
Many foreign development partners are executing various projects, including construction, in Bangladesh. They purchase construction materials from local sources and pay in foreign currency, which is considered construction service exports.
Meanwhile, the government’s exports of goods and services in FY22 were down by 0.96 per cent to $2.73 billion from $2.76 billion a year before, EPB data shows.
