Long Eid vacation, gas crisis: April sees lowest exports in 10 months of FY25

April recorded the lowest export earnings in the past 10 months (July to April) of the current fiscal year (FY2024-25), with a total value of just over $3 billion.

Experts primarily attribute the decline to factory closures during the eight-day Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, a gas supply crisis affecting industries, and shipment delays by US buyers following an abrupt and steep tariff hike by the Trump administration.

According to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) released today (5 May), exports in April stood at $3.01 billion, reflecting a slight growth of 0.86% compared to April FY24.

This was the lowest monthly export figure so far in the current fiscal year – the previous lowest being in September when goods worth $3.52 billion were exported. In contrast, exports last March reached $4.25 billion, according to the EPB.

Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, managing director of Rising Group, a leading apparel exporter, told TBS, "In April, there was a long Eid vacation lasting over eight days. On top of that, factories in the textile and garment sectors have been facing a severe gas crisis, which disrupts normal production."

The former vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said, "These two factors contributed to the decline in exports."

Other exporters echoed his concerns. Apparel items are the country's leading export products, accounting for about 85% of the total export value.

Most of Bangladesh's exporters operate on a Free on Board (FOB) basis, meaning shipments are considered exported once the goods are loaded onto the ship at the seller's port, such as Chattogram port.

Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Limited, one of the country's leading USGBC-certified green factories, identified three reasons for the lower export shipments in April – the long Eid vacation, a portion of exports being shipped earlier in March to avoid the holiday period, and some shipment held by US-based buyers due to the Trump administration's tariff hike.

"We observed that export orders have not actually declined, and there is no need to panic," said Fazlul, also a former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

He said Bangladesh also observed the Eid holidays in April last fiscal year, and export earnings during that month were nearly the same as this year's April.

He, however, noted that although there is uncertainty as the US tariff issue remains unresolved, most factories are operating with normal export orders.

Md Anwar Hossain, vice chairman of the EPB and administrator of BGMEA, told TBS, "Production halt due to the long Eid vacation, the gas crisis in some industrial areas, and the uncertainty over the US tariff hike all had a negative impact on April's exports."

Speaking to garment exporters, it was learned that despite the uncertainty over US tariffs, the flow of orders remains normal, and they expect it to continue in the coming months.

Over $40b worth of goods exported in 10 months 

According to EPB data, Bangladesh exported goods worth $40.20 billion during July–April of FY25, reflecting a 9.83% year-on-year growth compared to $36.61 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector maintained its leading position, contributing $32.64 billion during the period, marking a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. 

RMG exports in April 2025 amounted to $2.40 billion, slightly up from $2.38 billion in April 2024, representing a modest monthly growth of 0.44%.

However, during April, Woven garment exports saw a negative year-on-year growth of over 4.65%, while knit garment growth was over 5%.

During April, leather and leather goods, jute and jute goods, and engineering goods posted year-on-year positive growth, which was about 12%, 2.55% and 29% respectively. However, home textile, agricultural products posted negative growth, which was 2.69% and 19%, respectively.