Despite the wide spread political unrest in the last three months, Bangladesh has managed to export more in the first nine months of 2014-2015 fiscal year in comparison to previous years.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country earned $22.9 billion from exports during July-February period of the 2014-15 fiscal year against $$20.31 
billion in the previous corresponding period.
The earnings represent a 2.98 percent growth. However, the number still hasn’t met the target.
Exporters and economists say the return of political stability will have a positive impact on exports, though the growth rate may still miss the 5 percent goal.
EPB Vice-Chairman Subhasis Basu said Bangladesh stated 7.43 percent export growth in March over the same month last year.
“These statistics prove that the trend of our export growth has persisted despite so many deterrents,” Basu said.
Apparel exporters’s forum BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said: “The 10 percent growth target set for woven garments would have been achieved had there been no unrest in the country.”
Now it seems that the growth will be 3-4 percent.
The BGMEA chief said the political violence damaged Bangladesh’s image among international importers.
He sought cooperation of all to attain a $50 billion export target by 2021, the fiftieth anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Research Director Zaid Bakht said that the export growth the country had achieved amid the political unrest ‘is not bad’.
However, he fears that the impact of the last three months’ unrest would be visible on exports ‘six months or one year later’.
– Ittefaq Report
