The earnings are 26.77% higher than the target of $5 billion set for the year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released on Thursday
Bangladesh’s export earnings from services sector rose by 46.06% to $6.33 billion in the last fiscal year riding on higher performance of the transport sector.The earnings are 26.77% higher than the target of $5 billion set for the year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released on Thursday.Of the total earnings, transport sector including sea, air, rail and roads emerged as the largest foreign currency earner in services sector, contributing $662.76 million, up 12.48% from last year.Telecommunication and information services sector earned $549 million followed by the construction service with $435 million and travel sector with $367.86 million “There is a huge opportunity to earn more from the service sector but it remained untapped due to some difficulties, which can be removed easily,” Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director Ahsan H Mansur told Dhaka Tribune. We are lagging behind in transportation services especially airlines and shipping due to low service quality, Mansur adds, saying “ Taking advantage of the situation, a huge amount of airlines business are grabbed by foreign companies.”Despite having huge potential, health care, tourism and education sectors are mostly neglected in the country, said Mansur. “Instead of bringing foreign currency, a huge amount of money is spent in foreign countries every year by Bangladeshi nationals, seeking health care in foreign countries,” said Ahsan.In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $354.24 million from air transport, which was $302 million in FY18. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s overall merchandise export earnings have registered a 10.55% growth to $40.53 billion in FY19, while the export earnings from goods and services stood at $46.87 billion with a 14.30% rise compared to $41 billion in the given time.
Source – Dhaka Tribune.
