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The country's merchandise export earnings in May 2026 again declined after a rise in April, registering a 7.07 per cent year-on-year negative growth.
In May 2026, Bangladesh received US$4.40 billion in export earnings, which was US$4.73 billion in May 2025, according to the data released Wednesday by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Meanwhile, overall export earnings during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year also remained on a negative-growth trajectory as shipments of readymade garments (RMG), the country's main export earner, to major markets contracted.
Bangladesh earned US$43.79 billion during the July-May period of fiscal year 2025-26, reflecting a 2.57 per cent year-on-year negative growth against US$44.94 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Exports entered negative territory on a year-on-year basis in August 2025, when the country recorded a 2.93 per cent decline.
The decline was followed by contractions of 4.61 per cent, 7.43 per cent, 5.58 per cent, 14.25 per cent, 0.50 per cent, 12.03 per cent and 18.07 per cent in September, October, November, December, January, February and March, respectively. However, exports in April recorded growth of over 32 per cent.
Of the total export earnings in May, RMG fetched US$3.59 billion, registering an 8.29 per cent negative growth from US$3.91 billion earned in the same month of 2025, the EPB data revealed.
As usual, readymade garments maintained their leading position, contributing $35.31 billion--notwithstanding a 3.41-per cent negative growth--to the total export earnings during the first eleven months of this fiscal year.
Within this clothing segment, knitwear exports fell by 4.26 per cent to US$18.78 billion, while woven garment exports declined by 2.42 per cent to US$16.52 billion.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com