Earnings from merchandise shipment declined by 1.06 percent year-on-year to $5.3 billion in December of 2023 because of a slowdown in export of garment and few other major items.

December's export figure was also 5.57 percent lower than the monthly target of $5.62 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) today.

In the July-December period of the ongoing fiscal year, earnings from merchandise shipments marginally increased by 0.84 percent year-on-year to $27.54 billion.

In the same six-month period, garment shipment rose slightly at 1.72 percent year-on-year to $23.39 billion, the EPB data also said.