Exports fetched a record $55.56 billion in fiscal 2022-23 amid challenging conditions at home and abroad, in what can be viewed as one of the few bright sparks in the economy at present.

The receipts are an increase of 6.67 percent from a year earlier thanks, in part, to a strong showing in June, which saw $5.03 billion fly in, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

"This is satisfactory growth considering the high inflation-led low demand in our main export destinations of Europe and North America," said Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the commerce ministry.

However, fiscal 2022-23's takings fell short of the $58 billion export target set for the fiscal year.

"It is an outstanding achievement considering the expectations at the beginning of the fiscal year as the economies of the major export destinations were grappling with a slowdown and high inflation," said Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office.

At home, the exporters had to contend with low gas pressure and load shedding, both of which hampered production.

"Despite all those problems, exports grew by close to 7 percent, which is a remarkable feat," Hussain added.

Of the sum, garments, which shoulder the lion's share of the export-earning burden, raked $46.99 billion, up 10.27 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. It also earned $191.61 million more than the target.

Almost all garment-exporting countries performed badly last year as the major importing countries like the US, the EU, Canada, the UK and Australia cut back on their purchases for inflation, said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The demand for Bangladeshi-made garment items is resilient as they retail at low to average price points, according to exporters.

But Bangladesh performed comparatively better thanks to the shipment of more value-added items, higher exports to new destinations like the Asian markets and better prices, according to Hassan.

The steep depreciation of the taka against the US dollar also helped the exporters offer more competitive pricing amid the inflationary pressure around the world, said MA Razzaque, research director of the Policy Research Institute.

Taka depreciated by about 16.4 percent against the dollar between July last year and June this year, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.

"Bangladesh's export earnings in the last fiscal year is definitely a positive sign considering the volatile global economic situation," Razzaque said.

Apart from garments, only two products could cross the one-billion-dollar mark: leather and home textile.

Leather and leather goods export fetched $1.22 billion, down 1.74 percent year-on-year. Home textiles fetched $1.09 billion, down 32.47 percent from a year earlier.

The traditional jute sector could not cross the one billion market last fiscal year: its receipts shrunk 19.1 percent to $912.25 million.

Promising export sectors like frozen and live fish, terry towels and agricultural products saw their receipts come crashing down by more than 20 percent.

However, the export of footwear, headgear and plastic products saw positive growth in fiscal 2022-23.

The government is likely to set a $70 billion export target for this fiscal year.

"As inflation is decreasing in the West and our performance is excellent in new markets, we will see higher export growth this year," Ghosh said.

Razzaque, however, remained cautious: garment shipments to the US, Bangladesh's single largest export destination, have been declining in recent months.