Garment exports show promise

Garment exports make up three-quarters of Bangladesh’s more than US$12 billion in annual export earnings and has more than 4,200 factories employing millions of workers. Garment exports nearly doubled in four years, hitting US$9.2 billion in the financial year to June 2007, as compared to the US$4.9 billion in 2003.

Exports of knitwear items such as T-shirts and sweaters, which in the past four years grew more than 25% annually, posted just 2.4% growth in the first seven months of the year. Knitwear exports have gone up by 8% during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2007 as compared to the same period of the 2006 fiscal year, official figures said. During July-August 2007, the knitwear export stood at US $405.7 million as compared to US $374.5 million during the same period of the 2006 fiscal year, showing an increase of $31 million or 8%.