DHAKA: Bangladesh`s export income in the first three quarters of the current 2013-14 fiscal year (July 2013- June 2014) surged nearly 13 percent to 22.24 billion U.S. dollars with ready-made garments as the key performer, an official said Wednesday.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) official told media that the country earned "a total of 22,242.66 million U.S. dollars from exports in July to March period of the current fiscal year."

In the first nine months of the previous 2012-13 fiscal year (July 2012-June 2013), Bangladesh exports grew by 10.16 percent to 19,703.94 million U.S. dollars, the EPB data showed.

Quoting the latest EPB data, the official, who preferred to be unnamed, said export earnings for March alone were 2,413.42 million U.S. dollars, 4.79 percent higher than that in the same month last year.

He said the overall export growth has been largely driven by ready-made garments despite the sector has been facing problems in key global markets due to last April`s worst ever industrial tragedy in which a total of 1,131 people, mostly garment workers, were confirmed dead.

The collapse of an eight-story factory building outside Dhaka on April 24 raised questions about poor labor and safety standards in Bangladesh`s garment industry, which make up three-fourths of the country`s total exports a year.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the official said, knitwear garment export grew 16.40 percent to 8.830. 97 million U.S. dollars while woven garments increased 13.99 percent to 9,221.72 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period of last fiscal year.

After achieving double-digit export growth in the last fiscal year, the Bangladesh government has set its export target at 30.05 billion U. S. dollars for the current fiscal year, or up over 11 percent on year.

Bangladesh`s export income in the 2012-13 fiscal years grew 11. 18 percent year on year to reach 27.02 billion U.S. dollars.

Source: ShanghaiDaily.com
BDST: 1208 HRS, APR 17, 2014