Bangladesh has set a $12.5 billion exports target for the fiscal year to June 2007, up 18.75 percent from the previous year's export earning, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday. Exports reached $10.526 billion in the 2005/06 fiscal year, an increase of about $1.8 billion over a year earlier.
Ministry officials attributed the success to outstanding performances, especially in the garments sector. This time the government will give more priority to pharmaceuticals, light engineering, plastic, agro-based products and frozen food, said a senior official at the ministry.
"We have to diversify our export market as well as our products to achieve the target," he told Reuters.
Bangladesh's main export markets are the United States and Europe. Exports to the US, Bangladesh's single largest buyer, fetched around $3 billion in 2005/06 while Europe accounted for nearly 52 percent of total export earnings, ministry data showed.
The projected 2006/07 export target for woven textiles is $4.65 billion, up 13.86 percent from 2005/06 earning. The target for knitwear is $4.87 billion, up 27.64 percent.
Exports of knitwear including sweaters, T-shirts, undergarments and socks to some major markets have increased substantially since quotas were phased out at the end of 2004.
Ready-made garments generate three-quarters of Bangladesh's annual export income.
The 2006/07 target for frozen foods export is $495 million, up 7.82 percent from the year ago earning.