Continuing the good run, Bangladesh’s merchandise shipment fetched US $ 4.72 billion in October, which is the highest single-month receipts, thereby shattering the previous single-month highest export earnings posted in September when overseas sales brought home around US $ 4.17 billion even as export earning in October was 60.37 per cent higher year-on-year.
This is as per the latest data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), as per media reports.
Reports further attributed a good portion of October’s earnings, as far as apparel is concerned, to settlement of the deferred payments after the global buyers suspended or put on hold orders worth US $ 3.18 billion to the local suppliers last year owing to the severe fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Further, the buyers, especially from USA and Europe, bought in bulk of goods from Bangladesh in the run up to Christmas even as the economies in West have returned to normalcy on the back of rapid and large-scale COVID-19 vaccination, underlined the reports while adding that as per industry insiders the buyers also offered better price points for apparel items sourced from Bangladesh as they took into account higher freight charges and prices of raw materials, used to produce the goods.
What’s more, in the first four months of the current fiscal year (July to October), earnings from garment shipment were US $ 12.62 billion, up 20.78 per cent year-on-year, of which US $ 7.21 billion, reportedly, came from the knitwear shipment (which grew 24.27 per cent), while woven garment shipment contributed US $ 5.41 billion, rising 16.41 per cent.
Meanwhile speaking to the media BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim, reportedly, maintained apparel export would grow further provided garment makers could expand their capacities since they were receiving a handsome quantity of orders from the buyers, who were diverting orders from Vietnam, China and India.
