Govt sets export target at $18.5 billion for current fiscal

By AKM Moinuddin

Dhaka, Aug 25 (UNB) – The government has set the export target at US$ 18.5 billion for the current fiscal year, showing 14.16 percent higher than the actual export last year.
This was informed by Commerce Minister Faruk Khan after meeting with Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in his office today. He said the target was set keeping in line with the proposal of the EPB, which is achievable.
“I hope overall export will increase as the impact of global financial meltdown is over apparently,” he told reporters.
Faruk said power and gas crises have significantly improved in recent days. This will help rise in production in mills and factories leading to increase in export volume.
According to new export target, target of knitwear export is set at $7131.62 million while $6614.77 for woven garments, $1115.38 million for Jute and Jute Goods, $ 563.5 million for Home Textile, $450 million for frozen fish, $ 294 million for Leather, $266 for Agro Products, $111.15 million for Chemical Products, $155.20 million for Bicycle, $34.87 million for leather products, $235 million for Footwear, $33.86 for Ceramic Products and export target for vessels and ships is set at $36 million.
Sources close to the meeting said EPB proposed the export target at US$18.7 billion during the current fiscal year. Export earning for the 2009-10 fiscal stood at US$16.2 billion against the target of $17.6 billion. That represented a 4 percent increase over the 2008-09 fiscal, even though it fell around 8 percent short of the target.
According to EPB proposal, the target for knitwear was set at $7.3 billion, which is a 13 percent increase over last year’s performance ($6.4 billion) while the target for the woven garments sector was proposed at $6.7 billion, around $700 million more than it earned last year.
Representatives of FBCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA, MCCI, National Board of Revenue and senior officials concerned were present at the meeting.
END/UNB/AKM