EPB pauses export data release for 3 months, to probe mismatches

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) will refrain from publishing export statistics for the next three months while it investigates significant mismatches found in the data.

This decision was made in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, according to a source present at the meeting.

State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam, State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan, and Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, along with the secretaries of related ministries and the EPB vice chairman, were present at the meeting held at the Secretariat today (15 July).

The meeting also agreed to announce its decision in a press release from the finance ministry today.

Usually, EPB publishes monthly sector-wise and major market-wise export data.

According to the Bangladesh Bank, the actual export amount is reportedly at least $10 billion less than the figures published by EPB up to May of the last financial year.

Following this revelation, concerns have emerged regarding the accuracy of various pieces of information within the country's financial sector.

Sources in the commerce ministry indicated that the meeting emphasised the need to uncover the underlying cause of the significant gap in export data.

It was decided that the Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, and EPB will identify the root cause of these substantial discrepancies within the next three months, they said.

An official familiar with the development told The Business Standard, "It was decided in the meeting that the EPB will publish monthly export data after identifying and resolving the causes of discrepancies in export data.

"The next three months have been allocated to identify and solve the problem. That's why the EPB will not release any export data during this period."

Usually, the EPB publishes the export data of the previous month within the first week of every month. The agency has not yet released the export data for June this year after the $10 billion mismatch was identified in the export data.

An official who was present at the meeting told TBS, "The state minister for commerce has made it clear to the central bank governor that EPB itself does not publish any export data, they collect data from NBR and publish it. So despite the huge gap identified in the export data, there is no failure of EPB or the Ministry of Commerce."

When asked about this, Ahasanul Islam told TBS on Monday night, "It is not possible to comment on the issues discussed in the meeting now. You will be informed about the discussions and decisions of the meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) through a press release from the Ministry of Finance."

According to calculations by the Bangladesh Bank, export earnings from July to May of the last fiscal year amounted to $40.73 billion. However, according to EPB, the export amount for the same period was reported as $51.54 billion.

This reveals a gap between the two agencies' data of $10.81 billion, which is approximately $11 billion.