Merchandise exports plunged by 2.93pc y-o-y in August

Business Report :

Bangladesh’s export earnings fell 2.93 per cent year-on-year in August of the current financial year of 2025-26, standing at $3.92 billion compared to $4.03 billion in the same month of the previous year due to the negative growth of the largest foreign currency earner–readymade garments, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

The country started the current fiscal year with a robust double-digit growth of about 25 per cent in July 2025 to fetch US$4.77 billion, which was US$3.81 billion in July 2024.

Out of the total US$3.91 billion, RMG fetched US$3.16 billion, marking a 4.75 per cent negative growth compared to that of August 2024 earnings, EPB data showed.

Within the RMG segment, knitwear exports fell by 6.34 per cent to US$ 1.77billion, while woven garments decreased by 2.65 per cent to US$1.39 billion.

However, the overall export earnings grew by 10.61 per cent to US$8.68 billion during the first two months of the current fiscal year of 2025-26.

EPB, in a statement, said that while export performance in the opening month of the fiscal year indicates resilience, the slowdown in August underlines the challenges facing Bangladesh’s export sector in the context of global demand fluctuations and evolving market dynamics.
Meanwhile, the government has set a target to earn $63.5 billion from the export of goods and services in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Of this, $55 billion is expected to come from goods and $8.5 billion from services hoping to boost shipments to the United States by capitalizing on Bangladesh’s favorable position under the new US tariff regime.
The target is 16.5 percent higher than the earnings in FY 2024-25. The Bangladesh Bank expects service sector earnings to surpass the commerce ministry’s projection.
Earlier in FY25, export earnings witnessed 8.58 percent growth in the just concluded fiscal year of 2024-25 (FY25) raising the total volume to US$ 48.28 billion.
Bangladesh’s export earnings were $44.46 billion in the fiscal year of 2023-24, EPB data showed.