Bangladesh's merchandise export earnings increased by 4.32 per cent year-on-year to $2.96 billion in August following a rise in demand with reopening of retail stores in the EU and US. BGMEA attributed this hike to the release of goods in June and July, which were stuck in warehouses because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Garment shipments from Bangladesh began to rebound in July, when international retailers and brands started returning to the country with new work orders besides also accepting previously cancelled ones.

However, export receipts in August were 11.72 per cent lower than the monthly target of $3.36 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. Moreover, garment shipments decreased by 0.06 per cent year-on-year to $5.71 billion between July and August even though overall export earnings grew 2.17 per cent year-on-year to $6.87 billion at the same time. Of the total garment export, $3.11 billion came from knitwear and $2.59 billion from woven. During July-August period, knitwear exports surged by 6.64 per cent while woven fell by 7.06 per cent, according to the data.

Meanwhile, total export earnings in July grew by 0.59 per cent year-on-year to $3.91 billion, which was also 13.39 per cent higher than the monthly target of $3.44 billion.

The sector is expected to recover in line with the rise in export orders as Bangladesh is very strong in the production of medium and basic garment items