Bangladesh Exports Show Strong 12 Percent Growth

Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Bangladesh's export earnings marked a 12.43 percent growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal year over the same period a year ago, officials said Tuesday.

The country fetched $10.2 billion in export during the July-March period of fiscal 2007-08, according to the state-owned Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The figure was down $358.52 million from the goal.

"We are hopeful of achieving the export target by the end of the current fiscal," an EPB senior official told AHN, referring to the $14.50 billion export target fixed by the government for the current fiscal year.

He also said the growth in exports was due to good performance by sectors like knitwear, readymade garments and frozen food.

In March, exports surged 21 per cent from a year earlier to $1.22 billion, indicating an increase in the volume of sales.

The export volume of Bangladeshi products increased by nearly 14 per cent while the price of exportable products fell 1.5 per cent, the EPB data showed.

Knitwear items grew by 17.3 per cent to $3.9 billion while woven items grew 7.5 per cent to $3.8 billion amid a massive surge in export orders.

Frozen food, the third largest export item, grew 7.3 per cent to $408 million.