UNDP Partners with Bangladesh to Scale Exports and Strengthen MSME Sector

The endorsement arrives alongside Export Promotion Bureau data, cited by The Daily Star, showing merchandise exports rose 5.43 percent year-on-year to $9.15 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year. For an economy whose import-export imbalance the Commerce Minister has publicly described as a persistent structural feature rather than a recent deterioration, the convergence of multilateral support and verifiable shipment growth sets the operative frame.

The export ledger

EPB figures reported by The Daily Star show August shipments reached $4.42 billion, a 13.14 percent year-on-year increase, though 6.30 percent below July's $4.72 billion. Readymade garments remain the structural anchor of the export base: RMG earnings climbed 13.92 percent year-on-year to $3.89 billion in August, taking cumulative July-August RMG shipments to $7.50 billion, up 5.12 percent. Within the apparel complex, knitwear expanded 14.88 percent and woven garments 12.70 percent year-on-year in August. The EPB attributes the monthly print to stronger demand in principal markets, expanded production capacity and a continued shift into higher value-added categories.

Beyond the RMG base

The diversification arithmetic is where the sharper margins sit. Jute and jute goods rose 37.09 percent year-on-year in August, pharmaceuticals 28.52 percent, leather and leather goods 24.85 percent, printed materials 24.83 percent, and engineering products 23.88 percent. Cumulative July-August growth ran higher across select categories: printed materials 41.89 percent, pharmaceuticals 38.94 percent, other footwear 27.32 percent, and jute and jute goods 22.26 percent. On the market side, the United States, Bangladesh's principal destination, recorded 26.09 percent growth in August with 11.90 percent cumulative expansion across July-August, while the United Kingdom reclaimed its position as the second-largest market. Among emerging destinations, Türkiye posted 141.03 percent growth, South Korea 42.37 percent, and Saudi Arabia 42.09 percent — outliers that signal geographic reweighting rather than durable structural shift.

The multilateral overlay

UNDP's reported backing targets precisely the three nodes — investment, exports and MSMEs — where the latest diversification data is already producing traction. With the Commerce Minister having framed the import-export imbalance as a persistent structural condition rather than a recent deterioration, as reported by Views Bangladesh, the operative question is whether multilateral backing converts into binding instruments for MSME financing, market diversification and investment facilitation, or functions as a coordination layer over existing national programmes. Two quarterly signals will determine whether the trajectory consolidates: the share of non-RMG exports in the monthly total, and the durability of demand from non-traditional destinations beyond headline monthly prints. The fiscal-year arithmetic leaves limited room for reversal if the diversification signals documented through July-August are to translate into a structural re-rating of Bangladesh's external accounts.