At a time when Bangladesh has been facing a persistent USD shortage, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed $55.56 billion in export earnings in FY23, but Bangladesh Bank data – published this Thursday – show $43.36 billion export earnings for that fiscal year.
So, an analysis of these figures clearly indicates that the EPB showed $12.2 billion in excess export earnings for FY23.
This actual information, released by the central bank as part of its monthly Balance of Payments data, further showed the country’s actual export earnings hitting $40.81 billion in FY24, which is 5.9 per cent lower than FY23 export earnings posted by the Bangladesh Bank.
It should be noted that the EPB is yet to release export earnings data for FY24.
The Bangladesh Bank brought forth the issue of export data discrepancy in July this year. At that time, the central bank said they used the data which was provided by the EPB. However, according to the calculation, real export income displayed a mismatch.
In this regard, the central bank had to face questions from various domestic and foreign organisations. On examination, it appears that the export volume was low. Therefore, there is no justification for more export earnings inflow.
From now on, reports will be made based on actual data. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and EPB will use the same export data, said an official of the central bank.
The Bangladesh Bank released the export data for FY24, but the EPB has yet to release its own figures. Last July, the EPB chairman had said it will take about three months to release the revised data on exports.
Meanwhile, another Bangladesh Bank report this week, with the information from NBR, mentioned that goods worth $44.47 billion were exported in the outgoing financial year.
This export is $202 million or 4.34 per cent less than FY23. In the financial year 2022-23, the amount of exports stood at $46.49 billion. There is a possibility of double counting of exports in NBR data, experts say.
According to that report of Bangladesh Bank, in the FY24, knitted garments, woven garments, leather and leather products, jute and jute products, home textiles, engineering products, frozen food, chemical products and plastic products export have decreased at different rates.
On the other hand, the export of agricultural processed products increased by 15.91 per cent.
Despite the decline in export earnings, the trade gap had not increased because of the dip in import payment in a bid to save USD. According to the BoP data, during FY24, the gap was $22.43 billion, compared to $27.28 billion in FY23.
The import payment was $63.24 billion in FY24, which was 10.6 per cent lower than the FY23 payment. In FY23, the import payment was $70.75 billion.
Due to a sudden boost in remittance earnings, the current account balance deficit declined by over $5 billion in FY24 compared year-on-year. That FY, the balance deficit was $6.51 billion, significantly less than $11.63 billion recorded in FY23.
After the release of actual data by the central bank, the financial account stood at $4.54 billion surplus in FY24, which was $6.89 billion surplus in FY23.
The overall balance [BoP] stood at $4.3 billion negative in FY24, which was $8.22 billion negative in FY23. The gross reserve – as per IMF BPM6 method – was $21.68 billion in FY24, which is enough to cover four months of import payments.
