Staff Reporter :
The government has approved cash incentive for nine new export products with a view to promote their sales in overseas market.
These products are frozen soft-shell crab, pharmaceutical products and its raw materials, ceramics, galvanizing sheets, photovoltaic module, razor and razor blade, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda)(NaOH) and Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
The government policymakers at a meeting on Wednesday brought these products under its cash incentive programme.
High officials of the Ministry of Finance and Commerce, Bangladesh Bank (BB) and concerned divisions and agencies attend the meeting held in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
“Cash incentive has been approved for nine new products considering their export potentials in global market,” a senior government official told The New Nation yesterday on condition of anonymity.
He said the products will receive 10 per cent cash incentives on their exports from the current fiscal year. Besides, export of readymade garments to new markets will enjoy 4 per cent cash incentive from this fiscal instead of 3 per cent earlier.
“The government has expanded the list of the export subsidy eligible products in line with its goal to reach the country’s export earnings to US$60 billion by 2021,” he added.
A total of 27 categories of goods and products got cash incentive ranging from two per cent to 20 per cent in the immediate past fiscal year 2017-18(2017-18) fiscal year when the government extended Tk 4,500 crore cash subsidy against their exports.
Meanwhile, the government has set an export target of US$44 billion for fiscal 2018-19 (FY19), projecting a 6.4 per cent growth.
Of the target, US$39 billion has been projected from merchandise export while US$5 billion from services.
Export target for readymade garments fixed at US$39.69 billion.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed announced the target in a media briefing held in the conference room of the ministry yesterday.
He said the government has decided to provide cash incentive to nine new products along with the existing 27 items in the current fiscal to boost export.
Bangladesh’s export income stood US$36.67 billion US dollars in fiscal year 2017-18 with ready-made garments accounted for 82 per cent of its total export.
