Bangladesh’s exports rose nearly 1.4 per cent in May from a year earlier. For July to May, the first 11 months of the country’s 2016-17 financial year, exports rose 3.7 per cent from a year earlier.

Multifarious adverse conditions in international markets have created a slight pressure on readymade garment exports. The readymade garment sector accounts for 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s shipments.

Shipments of readymade garments, comprising knitwear and woven items, were up 2.2 per cent in July to May. Exports in the financial year that ended in June 2016 were up 9.7 per cent from the previous year, on the back of stronger garment sales. The country’s exports to the European Union have improved significantly and the hope is that exports to the US market will also increase considerably with accelerated economic recovery.

The World Bank is helping Bangladesh diversify exports beyond the garment sector. The project will improve the competitiveness of existing and potential export-oriented industries such as leather, footwear, plastics and light engineering, where Bangladesh has demonstrated a competitive edge.

The project will help create more than 90,000 jobs in sectors other than readymade garments. It will help the economy to integrate further into the world trading system, and provide better jobs to Bangladeshi youth entering the labor market in the next decade, with a particular focus on improving female labor participation.