Bangladesh sets next export revenue target

The government of Bangladesh has set an export revenue target of US$6.46m for cement, stone and salt over FY13-14 its export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has said. However, the country is facing a number of challenges as deliveries to its main export market of India have recently been in decline.

Over FY12-13 Bangladesh exported US$6.15m, with earnings including minor amounts of stone and salt. In July 2013 alone, Bangladesh earned export revenues of US$0.71m compared to US$0.56m in the same month of the year before.

However, exports from Bangladesh to India have been declining due to a steep fall in the Indian rupee against the dollar as well as weak demand in the country. This has led some Bangladesh exporters to stop delivering volumes to India.

“Our exports fell by 45-50 per cent in the last couple of months,” said Alamgir Kabir, additional managing director of MI Cement Factory, noting that the company exported 5600t of cement recently to the Northeast states of India, compared to 9760t in May.

On the other hand, other cement exporter believes this situation to be temporary. Other factors such as non-tariff barriers and weak infrastructure in Bangladesh are also affecting cement exports.