Exports fetch $3.13b in April
Receipts up six times year-on-year as shipment fell
to historic low last year
In April last year, earnings from the garment sector, which contributes 84 per cent to national export in a year, were only 0.37 billion because of lockdown and shutdown of factories. Star/file
Earnings from merchandise exports surged as much as six times year-on-year to $3.13 billion in April thanks to a rebound in apparel shipment buoyed by the reopening of the economies in the US and Europe.
Export receipts rose abnormally in April compared to the level in the same month last year, when overseas sales stood at a meagre $0.52 billion, the lowest in the history of Bangladesh, as a strict lockdown and the closure of factories in Bangladesh due to Covid-19 battered the economy.
STIMULUS PACKAGES
Exporters seek extension of loan moratorium, repayment periods
Star/file
The garment sector has been going through tough times for the pandemic’s second wave, a BGMEA leader said.
Exporters are seeking extensions on both moratorium and repayment period for loans accrued from a government sponsored stimulus package aimed at helping them cope with the pandemic s fallouts.
So far, the government has provided Tk 10,500 crore through banking channels to the export-oriented sectors at only 2 per cent service charge for the payment of workers wages between April and August last year.
While disbursing the fund, Bangladesh Bank incorporated a moratorium of six months, meaning repayments need not start for the first half year s period. The government said the loans needed to be repaid in 18 monthly instalments.
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EU, Germany contribute €80m to strengthen social security The New Nation
BSS, Dhaka :
The European Union (EU) and Germany transferred €80 million (around Tk 800 crore) to Bangladesh to strengthen key areas of its social security system and build resilience to Covid-19, with a particular focus on affected workers in export-oriented industries.
The establishment in October 2020 of the Government s Social Protection Programme for Unemployed and Distressed Workers in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG), Leather goods and Footwear Industries features as an important response measure, said media release on Thursday.
This is the first joint disbursement from the €113 million grant made available by the EU and Germany as part of Team Europe s response to fight Covid-19 and its consequences in Bangladesh. Funds are channelled through the budget support programme on National Social Security Strategy reforms in Bangladesh.
Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC), gepubliceerd op donderdag 10 december 2020.
The European Union and Germany are joining forces with the Government of Bangladesh and will provide €113 million to safeguard the livelihoods of vulnerable workers in the garment and leather export-oriented industries. Due to the unprecedented socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, these workers are at heightened risk of being pushed into poverty. This financial support, part of Team Europe s response to the COVID-19 crisis, offers a safety net to workers affected by the economic fallout and contributes to strengthening the resilience of Bangladesh s social security system.
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta
EU, Germany to provide Tk 1,145cr for Bangladesh’s unemployed, distressed workers
Star file photo Star Online Report Star Online Report
The European Union and Germany have signed an agreement to provide EUR 113 million (nearly Tk 1,145 crore) to Bangladesh s Social Protection Programme for Unemployed and Distressed Workers in the RMG, Leathergoods and Footwear Industries.
The programme, which is part of Team Europe s contribution to fight Covid-19 and its consequences in Bangladesh, offers a safety net to workers whose livelihoods are affected by the economic fallout.
It also contributes to strengthening the resilience of Bangladesh s social security system, said a statement by the EU on Thursday.