The country's readymade garment (RMG) exports declined by 18.84 per cent to US$ 27.70 billion in the just concluded fiscal year (FY 2019-20).
The sector had fetched $ 34.13 billion in the FY 2018-19.
In the month of June 2020, the earning stood at $ 1.99 billion, showing an 8.56 per cent decline over that of the corresponding month of last calendar year, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The BGMEA made the disclosures, quoting the National Board of Revenue (NBR) data from June 01 to 29 last.
The RMG fetched $1.23 billion and $374.67 million from RMG export in the months of April and May respectively in the just concluded fiscal year.
During March to May this calendar year, apparel exports recorded 54.79 per cent decline over that of the corresponding period of 2019.
When asked, BGMEA President Dr Rubana Huq said June export earnings represented an 8.5 per cent dip in year on year basis.
"This is a true reflection of the reality. The July-September period is traditionally is the lean period for the industry. We will wait to see the impact," she said.
Work orders are coming in to the tune of 40-45 per cent compared to the usual flow.
Explaining the overall negative growth over the fiscal, the BGMEA leader said there has been a fall in global consumption.
"We were already experiencing a slowdown, Covid-19 pandemic made it even worse."
Going forward, the industry might see sales picking up seasonally during Christmas, Ms Huq said adding but a full recovery might take place as late as middle of 2021.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), however, has proposed setting a $37.44-billion export target for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, predicting a 13-per cent growth.
The state-owned EPB has also projected an additional $7.6 billion in earnings from the export of services.
More than 82 per cent of the proposed $37.44 billion export earnings are expected to come from the RMG sector.
The bureau that is yet to publish the overall export earnings data of FY 2019-20, expects the export receipts to reach $33 billion in the final count.
munni_fe@yahoo.com