Bangladesh's cement industry has earned export revenue of US$0.89m in July-August 2020 (2MFY20-21), compared to US$1.33m bagged in July-August 2019. The modest start to the financial year reflects the fall in exports by 33.1 per cent over the year-ago period. The figure also includes a minor amount of salt, stone and related products, says data of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
 
The export value for cement decreased by 46.4 per cent, underperforming when compared with the government target of US$1.66m set for July and August 2020.
 
Meanwhile, the EPB has set an advanced export target for the cement industry at US$10m for FY20-21 (July 2020-June 2021) compared to US$9.14m for the previous fiscal year, following a decrease of cement export earnings in recent years.
 
The country's total export earnings from other merchandise shipments witnessed a 2.2 per cent growth in FY20-21, despite the impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The aggregate export earnings in July and August 2020 stood at US$6.87bn, against US$6.73bn earnings of the corresponding months of last fiscal, according to the EPB data. The government has set an export-earning target of US$41bn from goods in the current fiscal year (FY20-21). The export earnings in the last fiscal year (FY19-20) totalled US$33.67bn.
 
Bangladesh cement producers export cement to a range of overseas markets, including India, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka.