Bangladesh’s economy, first symptoms of pandemic recovery

DHAKA, Bangladesh – An uptick in clothing orders after the call for collapsed spring closures helped revive Bangladesh’s economy.

Clothing manufacturers, the country’s main export sector, say they eagerly await U. S. Christmas orders and primary markets.

Remittances from contracted Bangladeshi staff have also recovered, helping to ease the pressures of an almost pandemic closure in the spring.

The Asian Development Bank reported this week that the economic recovery is encouraging and expects the economy to grow at a physically powerful annual rate of 6. 8% in the fiscal year ending in June if existing situations continue.

This is a much bigger prospect than in April-May, when global clothing brands suspended or cancelled orders for more than $3 billion, affecting about four million employees and thousands of factories.

“For now, we can say that the next-port industry has returned to its upward expansion trajectory compared to March-May,” said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Apparel Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BGMEA. The Associated Press. .

“As Western economies recovered, we had to get buyers to renegotiate, so 80-90% of the $3. 180 million in cancelled orders was reinsorfiable,” he said.

Bangladesh gets about $ 35 billion a year from clothing exports, basically to the United States and Europe. The industry is the world’s biggest moment after China.

Bangladesh’s exports increased by 0. 6% to $3. 9 billion in July, after falling 83% to $520 million in April. Imports, reported quarterly, began earlier, expanding 36% in May-June.

In August, exports rose 4. 3% over the past year to $2. 960 million, mainly due to clothing shipments, according to the government’s Export Promotion Bureau. Clothing shipments totaled $5. 7 billion in July and August.

“The clothing industry is coming back. Our agriculture is fine. Remittances are coming. These are all symptoms of the economy,” Ahsan H said. Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, a group of experts in Dhaka.

“The speed of recovery is obviously visible. But demanding situations are also present. The speed of recovery will feature pandemic behavior in the West in the coming months,” Mansur said.

This is the invaluable one everyone faces.

On Thursday, Bangladesh reported that more than 342,000 showed coronavirus infections and 4,823 deaths. The country showed its first case on 8 March.

Some experts say the actual number of infections is higher than the official count. The garment industry says few employees of its factories have become ill due to precautions such as employing fewer people on production lines and enforcing protective instructions. The government imposed a national shutdown, on March 26 and the garment sector closed for almost three months, reopening only gradually.

AfDB country director Manmohan Parkash said the government had treated the crisis well, “with appropriate measures of economic stimulus and social coverage. “

“We are encouraged by the accumulation of exports and remittances, and we expect the recovery to be sustained, which will allow the expected rate of expansion to be achieved,” Parkash said.

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