Bangladesh exports rebound on back of garment growth

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Bangladesh said Tuesday exports leapt over 20 percent in June from a year earlier, an increase credited partly to some companies moving garment orders from China to the low-cost South Asian country.

Bangladesh shipped 1.72 billion dollars of goods in June, the highest monthly export figure in the country's 40-year history, the Export Promotion Bureau said.

"Apparel orders have increased as a lot of buyers are finding China too costly to produce low-cost products," said Shahab Ullah, who headed the government-run EPB till last week and is now a planning commission member.

"Even Chinese investors have come here to relocate their garment factories," Ullah told AFP.

Apparel exports, which made up 80 percent of total shipments last year, were hit hard by the global recession, with year-on-year declines in double digits during the first six months of Bangladesh's financial year, which starts July.

Garment manufacturers made up for their losses since March, and overall, the industry earned 12.6 billion dollars to finish the financial year in positive territory.

"The last few months have been very good for us. We have received big orders from global retailers," said Faruque Hassan, acting head of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Hassan said apparel exports could grow more than 15 percent this year, as "China is getting increasingly pricey while Bangladesh is offering higher quality products at the most competitive rates."

A resurgence of the country's traditional jute fibre -- also known as hessian or burlap -- industry has also helped, with exports of the eco-friendly fibre growing 76.43 percent this fiscal year to a record 736 million dollars.

Total exports grew 10.3 percent in the previous financial year to 15.6 billion dollars, the slowest pace since 2002-03, which the government and industry figures blamed on the international downturn.