Bangladesh earned over $5 billion from merchandise exports in November, a record income in a month thanks to a surge in the apparel exports, according to officials figures. The November export earnings of $5.09 reported by Export Promotion Bureau on Thursday surpassed the previous monthly highest income of $4,098 billion in last June. The $5.09 billion earned in November was 26 percent higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, said EPB. The surge in the export earnings comes at a time when the Western countries, the main buyers of Bangladesh apparels, are fighting a depressed demand mainly due to energy crisis caused by Russia-Ukraine war. Read more: Bangladesh Bank allows export income, remittance through MFS This achievement raised hope of easing the growing foreign exchange crisis Bangladesh has been suffering since July this year. On a positive trend, the export earnings in the first five months of FY23 grew by 11 percent compared to last year's corresponding period, the latest EPB data showed. This is the first time Bangladesh’s export earnings crossed $5.0 billion in a single month as the manufactures, especially of apparels, received more orders from Western buyers and shipment of on-hold export consignments. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan told UNB that apparel orders, which had been declining in past few months, marked an upward trend because of product diversification and adding new export destinations like South Korea, non-European Union (EU) member countries and some African countries. He expressed hope that the order will go up further during winter and the Christmas celebrations as the Bangladesh supply capacity is good and the prices of clothes is very reasonable so far. Read more: Can’t control global economy, but want to boost exports: BGMEA president The BGMEA president pointed out that despite a surge in raw material prices the resumption of shipment of on-hold consignments and focusing more on diversification the Bangladesh export market is creating a better option for all types of buyers. European trade researcher Dr. Mohammad Abdur Razzaque said Bangladesh is exporting very essential clothing items at a reasonable rate, whose demand has increased slightly in the European market. The demand for clothing at affordable price has increased in Europe where inflation-hit buyers are struggling with high energy prices.  Bangladesh manufactures regular wear and home textile items and this dominate its exports to EU markets, said Razzaque.   Besides, exports of fruits, vegetable, frozen fish, jute and leather products, and handicrafts to EU countries also increased, he said. Read more: RMG exports rise in Oct despite overall decline He said Bangladesh’s export destination in EU-plus countries, the UK, Canada, and the USA will grow continuously, as the sign of ending the Russia-Ukraine war is being visible. Dr M Abu Eusuf, professor of development studies, at DU echoed Razzaque’s optimism saying the EU market is very potential for Bangladesh. He said that the demand for Bangladeshi apparel has been increasing by 10 percent every year in the Western countries. “We are seeing that result in November, where the export earnings crossed $5 billion for the first time, and this trend will continue,” he added. END/UNB/AI/F

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has said there will be no foreign exchange crisis from January 2023, as the country's exports and remittances have become surplus compared to imports. He said this while speaking on the state of financial sector at the national seminar on LDC Graduation, organized by Economic Relations Division (ERD) in a Dhaka hotel this morning. Rouf said a Bangladesh Bank investigation found that the country's unusual import volume rose over $8 billion since beginning of this year. After looking into the matter and checking the imported goods, the imports fell to $5 billion, which is usual. Also read: Forex reserve: Why $10 billion in 2010 was not a worry, but $40 billion today is "We found in the investigation that some goods were imported with 20 percent to 200 percent over-invoicing. Import volume fell as we checked such incidents," he said. Bangladesh Bank is also working to check both under-invoicing and over-invoicing, to foreign exchange smuggling, and revenue earning, the Bangladesh Bank governor said. Also read: Forex reserves drop below $40 billion for the first time since 2020 There is restriction on LC opening, and the central bank is only looking into the LCs' values and actual market value of goods, which will continue to check foreign exchange smuggling through hundi, he said. Planning Minister MA Mannan was the chief guest at the programme. Principal secretary Dr Ahmed Kaikaus, FBCCI president Md Jasim Uddin, ERD secretary Sharifa Khan, also spoke in the function.  

Bangladesh received inward remittances worth over USD $1008.67 million (1,000 million = 1 billion) in the first 15 days of September, amid the forex crisis in the country. Bankers said remittance inflow shows an upward trend as the remitters are encouraged by the depreciation of taka and they get more than Tk 108 per dollar. The remittance inflow is expected to cross $2 billion in September. Read: Uniform rate: Tk 108/dollar max for remittance, Tk 99/dollar for export income from tomorrow Bangladesh received remittances of $2.09 billion in July and $2.03 billion in August, which became a blessing amidst forex crisis. Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank told UNB that the central bank has simplified various processes to attract more remittance through banking channels. The government is also extending remittance incentives as well as providing policy support. Now the dollar rate is getting higher, he said. Read: Hope amidst forex crisis: Bangladesh received $2.03bn remittance in Aug The sector insiders said that Bangladesh’s inward remittance flow will grow more as manpower export hit a new high in the past fiscal on a post-pandemic rebound of the overseas job market. The data of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) showed over 9.88 lakh workers had gone abroad in the fiscal year FY22 while this figure was 2.71 lakh in FY 21. This happens to be the highest number of annual overseas jobs in the last seven years. Read How to safely send remittance to Bangladesh? It is also contributing to growing up the inward remittance flow in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh received inward remittance worth USD 2.03 billion in August — raising hope amidst a forex crisis. In July, the first month of FY 2022-23, migrant workers sent home $2.09 billion remittance, said a Bangladesh Bank report. The inward remittance flow was $1.87 billion in July and $1.81 billion in August in FY 2021-22. Also read: Bangladesh receives $2.09 billion remittance in July; highest in 14 months Bangladesh received $21.03 billion remittance in FY 22, showing a 15 per cent fall from $24.77 billion inward remittance in FY 21. The remittance flow in the first two months of the current fiscal year is providing a glimmer of hope for forex reserve — crucial to meet the growing import demands. Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told UNB that the central bank has simplified various processes to attract more remittances through banking channels. The government is also extending remittance incentives as well as providing policy support. Now the dollar rate is getting higher, he said. Also read: Banks report $1.72 billion inward remittances till August 25 The sector insiders said that Bangladesh’s inward remittance flow will grow more as manpower export hit a new high in the past fiscal thanks to the post-pandemic rebound of the overseas job market. The data of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) showed over 9.88 lakh workers had gone abroad in FY 22 while this figure was 2.71 lakh in FY 21. This happens to be the highest number of annual overseas jobs in the last seven years. Read How to safely send remittance to Bangladesh? Officials hope the outflow of workers would increase in the current fiscal year as Malaysia is going to restart hiring manpower from the country, following a negotiated deal. The statistics showed that a low number of 271,445 workers found jobs in FY 21 during the peak pandemic while 498,983 in FY 20, 659,044 in FY 19, 866,417 in FY 18, 893,736 in FY 17, and 672,721 in FY 16.