Bangladesh's exports hit over 22 bln USD in first 9 months of FY 2013-14

[Toramana]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-04/16/c_133267602.htm

Bangladesh's exports hit over 22 bln USD in first 9 months of FY 2013-14

English.news.cn 2014-04-16 18:08:10 More
DHAKA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's export income in the first three quarters of the current 2013-14 fiscal year (July 2013- June 2014) surged nearly 13 percent to 22.24 billion U.S. dollars with ready-made garments as the key performer, an official said Wednesday.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) official told Xinhua that the country earned "a total of 22,242.66 million U.S. dollars from exports in July to March period of the current fiscal year."

In the first nine months of the previous 2012-13 fiscal year ( July 2012-June 2013), Bangladesh exports grew by 10.16 percent to 19,703.94 million U.S. dollars, the EPB data showed.

Quoting the latest EPB data, the official, who preferred to be unnamed, said export earnings for March alone were 2,413.42 million U.S. dollars, 4.79 percent higher than that in the same month last year.

He said the overall export growth has been largely driven by ready-made garments despite the sector has been facing problems in key global markets due to last April's worst ever industrial tragedy in which a total of 1,131 people, mostly garment workers, were confirmed dead.

The collapse of an eight-story factory building outside Dhaka on April 24 raised questions about poor labor and safety standards in Bangladesh's garment industry, which make up three-fourths of the country's total exports a year.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the official said, knitwear garment export grew 16.40 percent to 8.830. 97 million U.S. dollars while woven garments increased 13.99 percent to 9,221.72 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period of last fiscal year.

After achieving double-digit export growth in the last fiscal year, the Bangladesh government has set its export target at 30.05 billion U. S. dollars for the current fiscal year, or up over 11 percent on year.

Bangladesh's export income in the 2012-13 fiscal year grew 11. 18 percent year on year to reach 27.02 billion U.S. dollars.

[Bengal_Tiger]

1. Bangladesh along with 4 other countries in the world (China, Turkey, Brazil and Singapore) has since 2008 accumulatively achieved the highest rate of economic growth in the world according to one article I read.

2. Bangladesh's main exports are garments.

It's second biggest earner of foreign cash is remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis e.g. from the gulf.

3. Bangladesh does not have that many major industries besides these two and both of those two are dependent on the goodwill of foreign states.

- The Garments industry has been helped by the good will of western countries who have provided Bangladesh with preferential treatment as a poor country.

- Expatriate cash back to Bangladesh is dependent on Gulf states and others allowing Bangladeshis to work there. Since the Awami League came in to power, Saudi Arabia (due to Jamaati and Pakistani influence) applied sanctions on Bangladesh and banned the recruitment of new workers from Bangladesh.


4. So while people like myself can try and balance the predominantly negative image that Bangladesh has of simply being a "very poor country", we must also be aware of the weaknesses of Bangladesh's economic situation.


5. The government must try and nurture economic growth in other areas such as ship building, pharmaceuticals, tourism with east Asian countries, Islamic finance, defence exports etc.

If Bangladesh earns money merely from ways which are dependent on the good will of foreign states it is in a dangerous position.


6. The other big problems in Bangladesh are corruption and political instability.

The country though far more advanced than the dictatorships and monarchs of the Arab world, the country has a dysfunctional political system rife with incessant conflict.

If it can resolve that then it can follow the Indonesia model of economic success.








Jakarta, Indonesia.