Although Bangladesh’s overall export earnings rose 3.67 per cent in the first eleven months of fiscal year 2016-17, the growth in export earnings slowed to 1.39 per cent. Of the total export earnings in the July to May period of 2016-17, the readymade garment sector grew by 2.16 per cent.

The slow rate of growth in export earnings is due to weaker demand in global markets for the readymade garment sector – the lifeline of Bangladesh’s economy in terms of export earnings. It is thought this will adversely impact backward linkage industry, production and even the Gross Domestic Product.

Bangladesh’s production capacity in the readymade garment sector has also gone down due to the ongoing remediation, which may be another reason.

Of the total export earnings in the July to May period of the current fiscal year, knitwear posted 4.91 per cent growth but woven garments witnessed negative growth and were 0.33 per cent down compared to the previous period. Earnings from jute and jute goods posted a 9.84 per cent rise while the home textile sector posted 6.72 per cent growth. Leather and leather goods earned 9.17 per cent more than they did the previous year.