Desk Report (RMG Times) Bangladesh, being the world’s second-largest apparel exporter, witnessed a marginal rise in its exports to US $ 2.88 billion in the month of January 2018.

During the first month of the year, apparel exports contributed to an overwhelming 84 per cent of the total export earnings of Bangladesh, which on average remains just over 82 per cent.

The latest data from Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau shows that in total knitwear and woven garments’ earnings reached US $ 2.88 billion in January while it stood at US $ 2.81 billion in December 2017.

The cumulative sum exceeded the strategic export target for July 2017 to January 2018, set at US $ 17.18 billion, by 2.71 per cent to reach US $ 17.65 billion. On a year-to-year basis, apparel exports during the stated period marked an increase of 7.57 per cent as against the corresponding months of the previous fiscal.

Woven garments occupied over 54 per cent of the total apparel export share at US $ 1.57 billion. On the other hand, knitwear, the sector seeing the bulk of automation, witnessed earnings of US $ 1.31 billion.

In September last year, exports from Bangladesh slumped significantly on the stretch of holidays and slowdown in exports of the apparel division. Then, the apparel export amounted to US $ 1.62 billion.