Bangladesh export dispatches rise in 7MFY22

Bangladesh’s cement industry has earned export revenue of US$4.66m in the seven months of FY21-22 (July 2021-January 2022), compared to US$4.42m in the year-ago period. This reflects a growth of 5.4 per cent YoY. The figure also includes a minor amount of salt, stone and related products, according to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

The export value for cement decreased by 0.4 per cent, underperforming compared with the government target set for the period due to an increase in local consumption, costly raw materials and continued measures to stop COVID-19 from spreading during this period. The government's advanced export target for the cement industry was US$8m for July 2021-June 2022, compared to US$7.26m achieved in the previous fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s cement industry earned an export revenue of US$7.26m in the last fiscal year (July 2020-June 2021), compared to US$9.14m in the year-ago period, a fall of 20.6 per cent YoY. Bangladesh exports 90 per cent of its cement to India.

Likewise, the country’s total export earnings from the rest of the merchandise shipments witnessed a 30.3 per cent growth in the 07MFY21-22. Aggregate export earnings stood at US$29.54bn against US$22.67bn in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the EPB data. The government had set an export-earning target of US$43.5bn from goods in the FY21-22. Export earnings in the previous fiscal year totalled US$38.75bn. 

Construction material cost rising
According to IDLC Finance Ltd, for a country such as Bangladesh, which is ever-growing in population and GDP, meeting housing needs per demand was always a challenge. In such a difficult situation, the COVID-19 pandemic happened when the housing supply struggled to keep pace with the rapid urban growth. Now, as the economy crawls back to normalcy amid the pandemic, the surging prices of building materials are threatening the country’s housing market.

The cost of almost all the construction materials such as steel, cement, coal and stone increased significantly due to increased freight charges, hike in fuel price, unavailability of a cargo ship, etc. This has led to an increase in the construction costs (around 50 per cent of any overall project) by approximately 20 per cent, and this upward price trend is expected to continue until mid-2022. 

The cost of mega construction projects undertaken by the government, such as Padma Bridge and Elenga Road Project, has increased in multiples due to surging material prices. It has also left many developers unsure about their future residential and commercial projects.

However, the housing market is picking up rapidly, thanks to specific government policies such as lower interest rates cap for banks, reduction of registration fees, etc. Along with this, recovery of the overall economy will undoubtedly make this industry come back strongly.