Forex reserve crosses $44b againExport earnings soar 33.41pc in July-Mar

The country's earnings from export of merchandise goods experienced a hefty growth of 33.41 percent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2021-22, following increased shipments of apparel products, official data revealed on Monday.

The overall export value also surpassed the strategic target for the July-March period by 18.43 percent.

Bangladesh bagged more than US$38.60 billion during the July-March period of FY 22 over that of nearly $28.94 billion in the matching period of last fiscal, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

The export earnings for the month of March 2022 alone grew by 5.48 percent to $4.76 billion compared to that of $3.07 billion in March 2021.

Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserve crossed the $44-billion mark again due to higher growth of inward remittance.

The forex reserve fell to $43.89 billion on March 06 after paying import bills of $2.16 billion to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). It was the lowest forex reserve for Bangladesh in past one year.

The export earnings and remittance inflows of $15.29 billion during the first nine months of the current FY pushed the forex reserve to $44.30 billion on Sunday.

Remittance inflow rose to an eight-month high in March 2022, which was nearly 25 percent higher than the previous month.

According to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) latest data, expatriate Bangladeshis sent $1,859.97 million remittance in this March, which was the highest since July, when the country received $1,871.49 million as remittance.

Meanwhile, of the country's total export volume during the first nine months of the current FY, $38.60 billion, the ready-made garment (RMG) sector fetched nearly $31.43 billion, reflecting a 33.81 percent rise over the same period of last fiscal.

Of the total earnings from the sector, export receipts from knitwear items posted the highest growth of 35.29 percent to close at $17.12 billion during the July-March period of FY 22 over the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Woven garments fetched about $14.31 billion during the period this fiscal, up by 32.07 percent over that of $11.71 billion during the same period of last fiscal.

Shipments of home-textile products also saw a 36.79 percent rise with the sector fetching more than $1.15 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal, compared to that of nearly $1.08 billion during the same period of last fiscal.

Among other major sectors, earnings from shipment of leather and leather products grew by 30 percent to $896.8 million during the July-March period of the current fiscal over that of $684.84 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Earnings from shipment of agricultural products rose by 28.35 percent to reach $958.46 million during the period under review of FY 22 against $746.72 million during the same period of FY 21.

However, export receipts from jute and jute goods declined by 6.97 percent to $887.06 million during the July-March period of this fiscal, compared to that of $953.57 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal, the EPB figures revealed.