Bangladesh's exports in November rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier to $1.59 billion, a sharp drop from October's 15.4 percent rate as a cooling global economy took its toll. Exports for July-November, the first five months of the fiscal year, were up 17 percent at $9.7 billion, but 3.5 percent below the target, the Export Promotion Bureau said on Sunday.
Exporters have said orders from key western buyers are declining because of fears of a double-dip recession in debt-ridden Europe and the United States, which take in some 70 percent of Bangladesh's total overseas sales of garments.
Earnings from key ready-made garments in July-November rose 17 percent from the same period the previous year to $7.56 billion, $171 million short of the target. For the current fiscal year, Bangladesh is targeting exports of $26.5 billion, a rise of 15 percent from 2010-11, much slower than the previous year's blistering growth.