Bangladesh’s export shipments rose 6 per cent year on year to $17.04 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2026-27, with garments accounting for more than four-fifths of the increase, while several non-apparel sectors suffered declines.
Shipments increased by about $960 million from $16.08 billion in July-October last year, according to Bangladesh Bank, reflecting the country’s continued dependence on the apparel industry for export growth.
Knitwear remained the largest export category, rising 7 per cent to $7.71 billion from $7.20 billion a year earlier. Woven garment shipments grew 4.8 per cent to $6 billion from $5.73 billion.
Together, the two categories earned $13.71 billion, accounting for 80.5 per cent of total shipments. Their combined increase of $780 million represented more than four-fifths of the overall export gain.
Beyond garments, several sectors recorded strong growth, led by jute, leather and chemical products.
Jute and jute goods exports climbed 23.8 per cent to $383 million from $309 million, while leather and leather products rose 12.7 per cent to $464 million from $411 million.
Chemical product shipments increased 27.3 per cent to $157 million, while specialised textiles grew 16.1 per cent to $142 million.
Wigs and human hair recorded the fastest percentage growth among the listed export categories, surging 86.4 per cent to $94 million from $50 million. Despite the increase, the sector remained a relatively small contributor to total exports.
Ores, slag and ash followed with 63.7 per cent growth to $26 million, while carpet exports rose 37 per cent to $17 million. Chemical products and jute and jute goods completed the five fastest-growing categories.
Home textile shipments increased 7.4 per cent to $263 million, footwear exports rose 9.7 per cent to $194 million, and engineering products edged up 3.7 per cent to $249 million.
The overall gains, however, masked declines across several traditional and manufacturing export sectors.
Agricultural products suffered the largest absolute decline among the listed categories, falling 13.5 per cent to $325 million from $376 million, a drop of $51 million.
Frozen and live fish exports declined 10.9 per cent to $152 million, while cotton and cotton products fell 10.2 per cent to $170 million.
Paper and paper products recorded a sharper contraction of 18.2 per cent to $75 million. Plastic product exports slipped 5.2 per cent to $93 million, while cap shipments declined 5 per cent to $115 million.
Cement, salt, stone and related products suffered the steepest percentage decline, plunging 46.4 per cent to just $3 million. They were followed by paper and paper products, agricultural products, frozen and live fish, and cotton and cotton products among the five fastest-declining categories.
The mixed export performance comes as Bangladesh targets $63.4 billion in export earnings for FY27, despite exporters’ warnings that persistent global economic uncertainty and domestic business challenges could make the goal difficult to achieve.
The target comprises $55.2 billion from merchandise exports and $8.2 billion from services, with the government aiming for 15 per cent growth in both categories.
In FY26, Bangladesh earned $48 billion from merchandise exports, falling about 12.7 per cent short of the $55 billion annual target.
