DHAKA: Bangladesh's exports surged nearly 48 percent in May from a year earlier to a record $2.295 billion as apparel sales rose sharply, over a continuous shift in orders from China to the lower-cost South Asian country.
Exports for July to May, the first 11 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, rose 41.61 percent to $20.54 billion, exceeding the full-fiscal year target of $18.5 billion, the Export Promotion Bureau data showed.
Exports of ready-made garments to Europe and the United States, which constitute close to 70 percent of total overseas sales, have been growing since last year on the back of the global economic recovery.
Garments exports surged 43 percent to about $16 billion in July-May.
Officials have said the lower wages in Bangladesh have attracted some clothing production away from China, while orders from new markets such as Japan, South Africa, Canada, China, India, Australia and New Zealand are also growing.
Bangladesh's cheap labour costs have helped it join the global supply chain for low-end textiles and clothing.
However, the slowdown in its key markets in the west could hurt exports, going forward, apparel exporters said.
"We apprehend a slowdown in exports in July-September as orders from the buyers are declining," said Mohammad Shafiul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
"Quick recovery of economies in the Western countries would be a key driver for Bangladesh's exports," he added.
Garments are one of the main foreign exchange earners for Bangladesh's more than $100 billion economy, along with remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, many of whose jobs are now at risk due to the turmoil in the Middle East.
The government aims to bolster economic growth to 7 percent in the coming fiscal year, after estimated growth of 6.66 percent this fiscal year.
However, the impoverished country grapples with high inflation and swelling trade deficits, driven by costly food and oil imports, that analysts said to jeopardise the economic growth.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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