Bangladesh exports in March surged 13.4 percent from a year earlier to $1.01 billion, mostly driven by the volume of sales as prices were almost steady, Export Promotion Bureau officials said on Sunday. In July to March, the first nine months of fiscal year 2006/07, export earnings grew 20.21 percent to $9.04 billion, they said.
Export volume increased by 19.59 percent. "Continuous higher demand for clothing led to this higher growth," an official with the bureau said. Earnings from woven garments in the nine-month period grew by 18.24 percent to $2.97, while knitwear exports increased 24.31 percent to $2.68 billion.
Bangladesh's exports have been led by garments, especially knitwear, since global export quotas were phased out at the end of 2004. Apart from garments, a significant rise in sales of frozen food, leather, footwear, computer services, home textiles and ceramic products contributed to the export growth.
Exports of frozen food rose 16.14 percent from a year earlier, earning $328 million in July-March. Exports reached a record $10.53 billion in the fiscal year to June 2006, of which $7.9 billion came from garments. Bangladesh has set an exports target of $12.5 billion for the current fiscal year, up 18.7 percent from a year earlier.