Exports grow 5% in Jul-Sep

Bangladesh's exports grew by 5 percent year-on-year to $11.37 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, driven by increased shipments of apparel, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Exporters earned $3.5 billion in September this year, posting a 6.78 percent year-on-year rise, according to the EPB.

The bureau released the export data after a three-month delay due to efforts to reconcile discrepancies in reported export earnings.

In July, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) published data showing that actual shipments for the July-April period of the 2023-24 fiscal year were nearly $14 billion lower than the export figures initially reported by the EPB.

The discrepancy between export figures has persisted for at least 12 years, with the gap surpassing $12 billion in 2022-23 fiscal year.

In the latest data, EPB has also corrected the export figures for September 2023.

Last year, the EPB reported $4.3 billion in exports for September 2023, while the actual figure was $3.2 billion, revealing an overestimation of $1.1 billion.