Guys let's keep it on topic please...
As we can see- exports have been over performing and under performing at times, but overall the trend is not down but up. 2019 remains the benchmark because things in 2020 really turned back for everyone during Covid.
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12:00 AM, July 09, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:32 PM, July 09, 2019
Double-digit export growth in FY19
Refayet Ullah Mirdha
The country’s merchandise export earnings grew by 10.55 percent year-on-year to $40.53 billion in the immediate past fiscal year riding on a high volume of garment shipment in a favourable external business environment.
The earnings were 3.94 percent higher than the annual target of $39 billion in 2018-19. In 2017-18, Bangladesh exported goods worth $36.66 billion.
However, June recorded one of the lowest export receipts at $2.78 billion, which is also 5.27 percent less than that of the corresponding month in the previous fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released yesterday.
In June of 2017-18, Bangladesh’s export earnings were $2.93 billion.
June’s receipts were also 22.65 percent lower than the monthly target of $3.60 billion set by the government. In Bangladesh, the fiscal year is counted between July of a year and June of the next year.
Garment export earnings, which accounted for over 84 percent of the national exports, amounted to $34.13 billion, registering an 11.49 percent year-on-year growth.
Of the amount, $16.88 billion came from knitwear and $17.24 billion from woven garment products.
Earnings from apparel shipment were 4.57 percent higher than the target of $32.68 billion. Some $30.61 billion was earned in fiscal 2017-18.
“The earnings from June indicate that the future trend is not so good for the garment sector,” said Faisal Samad, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), over the phone.
Although garment shipments grew by 11.49 percent, international retailers and brands are not paying higher prices while purchasing garment items from Bangladesh, he said.
However, Bangladesh is getting more work orders that shifted from China resulting from the US-China trade war, Samad said. Buyers are more confident as the image of the country’s garment sector has brightened a lot recently because of the remediation carried out as per requirements of the international community.
The country’s garment export to the US market, the single largest export destination for garment, grew more than 10 percent in recent months because of the trade war, he said.
“The exact value addition has not been reflected in the offered prices for Bangladeshi garment items by the international clothing retailers and brands although the cost of doing business is increasing every year for various reasons,” Samad said.
Moreover, an unhealthy price competition has been hurting the Bangladesh’s garment sector for many years as many small and medium factories have been receiving work orders for offering prices below the production cost only to keep factories running, he added.
Apart from apparel, some other sectors also fared well.
The shipment of frozen and live fish such as shrimp and crabs rose 1.58 percent to $500.4 million and that of agricultural products such as tea, vegetables, fruits, spices, dry food, and tobacco surged 34.92 percent to $908.96 million.
Pharmaceuticals, furniture, petroleum byproducts, plastic goods, ceramics, handicrafts, cotton, cotton products (yarn and wastes of fabrics), carpet, terry towel, footwear, wigs, and furniture performed better in the last fiscal year.
However, leather and leather goods and jute and jute goods continued their poor show. Leather and leather goods fetched $1.01 billion, down 6.06 percent year-on-year. This is largely because many tanneries that have shifted to the leather estate in Savar have not embarked on full-fledged production yet.
The sector is the only segment that had crossed the $1-billion export mark after garments last year. Exports of jute and jute goods, another important foreign currency earner, fell 20.41 percent year-on-year to $816.27 million.
The sector’s earnings are declining mainly because of higher use of jute goods like sacks in the domestic market and the anti-dumping duty slapped by India.
Home textiles, building materials, ships and bicycles also performed poorly.
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Bangladesh: Pharma exports soar 26%
JULY 24, 2019
Skilled manpower and improved quality of medicines and more focus on foreign markets have helped Bangladesh to expand its pharma market to 144 countries.
Bangladesh’s medicine exports soared 25.60 percent year-on-year to $130 million last fiscal year thanks to continuous improvement of product quality and government support.
The sector has built up skilled manpower and improved quality and at the same time more effort is being put to win the global market, said Mizanur Rahman Sinha, managing director of ACME Laboratories.
“For this reason, the export volume is increasing. The export figure though is insignificant. But the sector has a good potential in the global market,” he added.
Local players dominate Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry. Square Pharmaceuticals is the major player with 18.8 percent share, followed by Incepta at 10.2 percent, Beximco 8.5 percent, Opsonin 5.6 percent, Renata 5.1 percent and Eskayef 4.5 percent, according to the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries (BAPI).
Multinational companies Radiant, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk also have significant presence with their specialised products.
According to BAPI, Bangladesh exports pharma products to 144 countries and caters to 97 percent of the domestic market.
In 2017, the per capita consumption of medicine in Bangladesh was about $15.36.
“Foreign buyers are coming in continuously and visiting our factories to examine the quality of products. More often than not they are placing orders,” Sinha said.
Bangladesh mainly exports medicine to Africa and Asia, with some even going to the US and Europe, said Shafiqul Islam, vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau.
“I believe within the next 5 to 10 years, our pharma products will enter the US and EU properly and for this reason EPB is helping the sector.”
Local consumption of medicine is increasing in line with the rise in population and growing awareness on treatment, he said.
Currently, Bangladesh has the ability to produce advanced medicines such as bio-similar drugs, vaccines and oncology products as well as medical devices, said Mohammad Ebadul Karim, managing director of Beacon Pharmaceuticals.
“We do export oncology products to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia and African countries. But volume is still low — we should to grab the regulated market to increase the volume,” he added.
According to his estimates the market size of the sector is about Tk 22,000 crore.
In 2012, the local market size stood at about Tk 9,390. In 2017, it stood at Tk 18,755.6 crore, according to IMS Health Care Report.
Karim also emphasised on upgrading technology and infrastructure to boost exports and enter regulated markets.
In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration gave approval to Square Pharmaceuticals and Beximco Pharmaceuticals after inspecting the oral solid dosage facilities of the two companies.
Bangladesh has made commendable progress in pharma sector over the years through policy support from the government, skilled workforce, cost competitiveness, modern infrastructure and cGMP compliance, said Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer at Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
The export potential for differentiated products — such as metered dose inhaler, dry powder inhaler, sterile ophthalmic, injectable — is high in key emerging and developed markets due to less competition, he added.
