Export earnings in October amounted to USD 2.84 billion, registering a growth of 6.42 per cent and marking a strong return of bigger shipments of apparel with a growth of 41.36 per cent from the previous month. Explaining the reason behind the 41.36 per cent growth rate in the readymade garments (RMG) sector, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association president Siddiqur Rahman told The Independent: “The four months from October to January will be the peak season for the shipment of apparel; so, I am expecting a growth rate of at least 10 per cent or even more.”

“Yes, there has been a bit of downturn in the growth of the RMG sector in the first four months of FY 2017-18. The growth rate was only 6.99 per cent,” he said.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), for July–October, the first four months of FY 2017-18, exports rose by 7 per cent to USD 11.5 billion compared to the previous year. For July–October of FY 2017-18, the export of agricultural products like tea, vegetables, and tobacco registered a growth of 20.22 per cent and fetched USD 203.21 million.

EPB officials said the export of leather and leather products fell significantly, with the sector registering a negative growth rate of 0.02 per cent.

“Around 65,000 people used to work at the tanneries in Hazaribagh before we shifted all the factories to Savar. As a result, many people have lost their jobs, and it hit the export of leather goods,” explained tannery owner Shaheen Ahamed.

EPB data also shows that the growth rate of jute and jute goods exports has increased drastically and reached 16.46 per cent. This sector fetched USD 345.01 million in the first quarter of FY 2017-18.

Industry experts said exporting innovative products like shopping bags, jute promotional bags, canvas tote bags, and home decor products to countries like Germany and Austria has pushed up the growth rate of export.

In September, export earnings dropped to USD 2.03 billion, which was around 10 per cent lower than that in the same month last year. It also missed the target by 28 per cent.

Exports in the last financial year amounted to USD 34.59 billion, which was 3.39 per cent higher than the previous year, but still way short of the USD 37-billion target.