CPD RMG Study Stitching a better future for Bangladesh
Published in the Dhaka Tribune on 9, July 2017
Asif Showkat Kallol
The government is mulling massive reform initiatives to revamp the export sector and gain the status of a developed nation, and get access to duty-free markets in Russia and Myanmar.
In order to achieve the target, the Commerce Ministry has planned to take a total of 16 initiatives, and accordingly, the authorities concerned are working to further ease the country’s banking facilities for businessmen to export their products to the countries. Besides, a separate fund will be created for the sector’s growth
An official at the ministry told the Dhaka Tribune that the authorities concerned will hold a meeting with all stakeholders on July 13 to generate ideas about increasing the export volume to achieve the status of a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041.
The ministry has set the RMG export target at $50bn by 2021 though the apparel industry, considered to be the lifeline of the country’s export earnings, has seen only a 0.20% rise to $28.15 billion, which is the lowest on record in the last one-and-a-half decades, in the just concluded fiscal year. Bangladesh’s overall export earnings stood at $34.83bn in the Fiscal Year 2016-17, which is a 1.68% higher compared with the $34.25bn in the previous year.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Exporter Association, said the currencies of Russia and Myanmar are yet to be recognised by the global banking system. As a result, local exporters are not interested to export their products directly through a letter of credit.
“Russia is a big export market for Bangladeshi exporters. Problems with the banking system should be fixed immediately through discussions with the authorities concerned of Russia and Myanmar,” said Salam, also managing director of Envoy Group.
The meeting’s working paper highlighted the need for a digital system and amending company law to remove trade barriers so the country can attract more investment. Besides, a common digital platform will have to be created for developing the export sector and increasing trade facilities, it stressed.
Underscoring the need for skilled manpower and active commercial wings of Bangladesh’s missions abroad, the paper also states that the Bangladesh can emulate the models of Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia to enhance the export sector’s performances.
A large conference will be held by heads of the commercial councilors within the next two years, and every year the country will organise a views-exchange meeting to generate export ideas, it read.
Economic wing in Geneva will be turned into a separate commercial directorate, and more initiatives will be taken for diversification of products to increase the export volume, the working paper states, adding that reform of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and Agriculture Expansion Directorate is a must to explore the possibilities of more export-oriented businesses.
