Export of services earning substantial forex

Bangladesh's services sector sustains increased export earnings even during this global economic crisis as it posted 6.12-percent growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal, official data show, driven by technology.

The country received US$2.01 billion from services export during the July-September period (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY2023), Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed.

In the same period (Jul-Sep) last FY2022, the earnings from the sector was $1.89 billion, according to the EPB data.

An FE analysis has found that some services sectors, including telecommunications and information services, travels, financial services and other business travels, have pivoted the export earnings.

Exports from education and tourism services dominated the Bangladesh export-earning growth from the overseas market as it posted 62-percent expansion during the Q1 of FY2023 compared to the same period of FY2022.

The earnings were worth $92.88 million in the Jul-Sep period from personal travels (education and tourism) against $57.34 million in the same period last FY2022, the EPB data showed.

The ICT and telecommunications sector posted an impressive foreign-exchange earning in the FY2023Q1 with 28.58-percent growth in the export.

According to the official counts, Bangladesh earned $169.20 million worth of funds during the period as against $131.59 million in the same period of last FY.

Out of the earnings, the country exported $137.23 million worth of computer services, including software, data processing, and consultancy, to overseas market in the first three months of the current fiscal, maintaining a 57.46-percent growth.

In the same period last FY, Bangladesh earned only $87.15 million from computer services.

President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Russell T. Ahmed told the FE that Bangladesh's export in the computer services had grown "at a remarkable rate" over the years as Bangladesh is now one of the better destinations for sourcing the software and ICT services.

The IT sector has target to earn $5.0 billion worth of funds from overseas market by 2025 making the shipment of the computer and IT services, he added.

"The export earnings from this sector are almost double the EPB data as some foreign-exchange earnings are not calculated there due to some official complexities," Mr Ahmed says.

The computer and IT services earned $592.06 million from the export to the overseas market in the last FY, the EPB data showed.

Bangladesh is also performing better in export of some other business services like research and development services, professional and management services, technical, trade-related and other business services.

The earnings from other business services were $305.42 million in the July-September period of FY2023, 18-percent higher than that in the last FY2022.

[email protected]