The oversight body for the country's export processing zones has said eight industrial zones (EPZs) under it saw a record high employment generation, export earnings, and investment in fiscal year (FY) 2021-22.
Exports from the EPZs reached $8655.90 million in FY22, crossing the $8 billion mark for the first time in the 40 years of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza). It saw a 30.41 percent growth in exports year-on-year.
The last time it was near this high was in FY19 when the amount was $7524.11 million.
Apparel shipments accounted for 54.68 percent of the total exports of EPZs. The rest were garment accessories, footwear and leather goods, textile, tent, caps, plastic goods and electronics.
Also, Bepza recorded $409.80 million in investment in FY22, surpassing all previous records. The investment grew 20.26 percent year-on-year.
The previous record was $406.35 million in FY15, according to the investment promotion agency.
The export processing zones authority said the investment created 64,160 jobs in factories under its jurisdiction, the highest by far on record, marking a rise year-on-year of 36.51 percent.
As of June 2022, investors from 37 countries including South Korea, China (Taiwan and Hong Kong), Japan, India, the UK, the US, and Bangladesh have invested $6040.43 million in the EPZs.
Till June 2022, the total exports from the 456 operational enterprises of eight EPZs reached $96 billion whereas the cumulative employment stood at 502,365.
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