Utilization Declaration (UD) permission taken by the Bangladesh exporters rose by 3.33 per cent to 14,083 during the January-June period of 2022,, as BGMEA. The permission is granted to exporters to import raw materials to execute work orders placed by an importer and it indicates flows of work orders. Among the six month it posted positive growth only in January by 150.57 per cent to 3037 as it recovered from Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the issuance of UD by the BGMEA declined by 12.77 per cent to 2178 in June, which was 2,497 in the same period of last year. It declined by 15.80 per cent to 1,907 in May, followed by9 per cent to 2,452 in April, 11.60 per cent to 2,269 in March, and 6.27 per cent to 2,240 in February. Continuous decline in the last five month made the exporters fearsome and they fear negative growth in the upcoming months.
As an export led growth economy, Bangladesh cannot escape the impacts of the global economic crisis. High inflation in the EU and US is a big concern for Bangladesh, says Professor MustafizurRahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said.
To avert the impact of the crisis, Bangladesh has to focus on non-traditional markets most in South Asia and East Asian markets, adds Rahman. On the other hand, intra RMG diversification is the key to remain safe amid the crisis. Meanwhile, exporters called for more policy support to overcome the crisis and retain the export growth. In FY22, export earnings from readymade garments rose by 35.47 per cent to $42.61 billion year-on-year.
