Feb 5, 2009
Source: Yahoo.com
Bangladesh exports down 10 pct as clothes exports fall
DHAKA, Feb 5 - Bangladesh's exports slid 10 percent to $1.19 billion in December, data showed on Thursday, reflecting falling demand from recession-hit markets such as the United States and Europe.
Demand for clothes, Bangladesh's key export to those countries, declined as the financial crisis continued to deepen, industry groups said.
But the central bank said Bangladesh did not face any immediate upset in its readymade garment exports yet because the country sells mostly basic and low-cost products.
Data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed export earnings in the first half of the 2008/09 fiscal year rose 19.38 percent to $7.75 billion.
Despite growth in clothes exports, foreign sales of frozen food, leather goods, electronics and other items declined.
Bangladesh has set a $16.3 billion export target for the year to June 2009. Exports in the previous year to June 2008 hit a record $14.11 billion, of which almost $10.7 billion was from garments.
Separately, revenue collection in the first half of the fiscal year to June 2009 dropped nearly 18 percent to 223.63 billion taka ($3.2 billion), against a target of 272.50 billion, a senior tax official said on Thursday.
He said the fall was mainly due to the financial crisis that could seriously hamper Bangladesh's development and imports if it deepened further.
($1 = 68.90 taka)
(Reporting by Ruma Paul & Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by Jan Dahinten) Keywords: BANGLADESH ECONOMY/
(ruma.paul@thomsonreuters.com; RM: ruma.paul.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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