Cement exports from Bangladesh dip in 9MFY19-20

Bangladesh's government saw a modest fall of more than six per cent in total export during the first nine months of the FY19-20 as the initial impacts of coronavirus began to impact business, but fortunately overseas cement dispatches were only slightly down, according to data released by Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
 
However, Bangladeshi economist Mohammad Shahjahan Siddiqui has cautioned through local media that there will be a serious impact of coronavirus in the country's export earnings if the situation persists for long. "If coronavirus situation takes a serious turn and persists for long, we can't tackle it and there'll be economic fall-out," he added.
 
Bangladesh's cement industry has earned an export revenue of US$8.06m in the 9MFY19-20 (July 2019-March 2020), compared to US$8.16m earned in 9MFY18-19, a minor contraction of 1.2 per cent YoY. The export figure also includes a small amount of salt, stone and related products, according to the data of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
 
However, the export value for cement increased by 3.1 per cent above the 9MFY19-20 government target of US$7.82m during this export period.
 
The EPB had set a lower export target for the cement industry at US$10.5m for FY19-20 compared to US$14m for the previous fiscal year, following a decrease of cement export earnings to U$10.41m in FY18-19.
 
The country's total export earnings continued to decline as merchandise shipments witnessed a 6.2 per cent fall during the last nine months of FY19-20. The aggregate export earnings during July to March of FY19-20 stood at US$28.973bn, against US$30.093bn earnings of the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to the EPB's data.
 
Cement is reportedly being exported by Bangladeshi cement producers to India, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka.