Exports dropped in last three years

Bangladesh's exports have been declining over the past three years, according to the central bank data.

The disclosure was made in the monetary policy statement for the first half of fiscal 2024-25, which was unveiled yesterday.

For instance, in fiscal 2023-24, exports are likely to be around $42 billion, which is $10 billion less than the figure reported by the Export Promotion Bureau, as the receipts, according to the BB, were down 4.28 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year.

As per EPB statistics, exports stood at $51.54 billion during that period, up 2.01 percent from a year earlier.

Similarly, the EPB has shown an export growth of 6.67 percent for fiscal 2022-23 and 34.38 percent for fiscal 2021-22.

The BB receipts indicate otherwise.

The central bank data shows receipts from garment shipments dropped 5.2 percent between July last year and May this year.

Following the export data mismatch, the EPB has decided not to publish the monthly export data until further instructions from the commerce ministry, said a senior official of the commerce ministry wing.

If the EPB can set up its own data centre, it will release the data monthly, he said.

The EPB will assess the export dynamics based on the data from the customs department of the National Board of Revenue and the BB, the official added.

"The export data which the BB has been publishing is correct as the EPB data was inflated," said Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

Over the last few years, Hatem has been saying that the export data was inflated as the real data of issuance of Utilisation Declaration (UD) certification does not match with the EPB export data.

The BKMEA and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association issue the UD certification to its members.