According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics, earning from woven garments was $853.21 million during January-March period of 2005, which was $904.08 million during the same period of last year.

Bangladesh's exports felt the initial shock of the quota phaseout in January 2005, with earnings from woven garments falling by 21 percent compared to January 2004. The income rose 31 percent in February but again fell by 13 percent in March.

However, knitwear exports rose to 648.96 million during January-March of 2005 from $468 million during the same period of last year, registering a 38.64 percent increase.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) apprehends a sharp fall in woven exports in the coming months as the utilisation declaration (UD) is now dipping by around 30 percent.

"We are observing roughly 30 percent decline in the UD for the woven products," Annisul Huq, president of BGMEA, told The Daily Star.

The contribution of readymade garment products -- both woven and knitwear -- was 77.55 percent in the total export earnings of $6097 million during July-March period of the current financial year and the share of woven products was 44 percent.

"We are facing stiff competition in woven products in both the European Union and the US markets from January this year. Exports in the Canadian market has increased but it could not offset the total fall," said Professor Mustafizur Rahman, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Bangladesh's woven products are not getting generalised system of preference (GSP) facility in the EU market because of the stringent rules of origin, which is a constraint in accessing zero tariff facility there, he observed.

He stressed the need for domestic capacity building in backward and forward linkage industries to face the challenges of quota-free regime. "Bangladesh will remain major supplier in lower-end products though it is facing tough competition in some categories."

Overall exports, however, saw a 12.47 percent growth in the first nine months (July 2004 -- March 2005) of the current financial year. The target for the 2004-05 fiscal year has been set at $8,565 million.