Badrul Ahsan :
The government has planned to take a set of proactive measures to keep the country’s export growth intact in the backdrop of fall in rate of local exportables in the international markets, sources said.
According to them, rate of most of the local exportable goods have been showing a downswing trend for the last one year in the international markets, which compelled the authorities to adopt new measures to boost volume of export in the days to come.
A high official of Commerce Ministry said that the initiatives included, signing of preferential trade agreement (PTA) with different countries to avail zero duty facility, sending of increased number of business delegates abroad and attending in increased number of international trade fares.
Besides, finding out problems and prospects of local exporters and strict follow-up to achieve mission-wise export target are also among the initiatives. According to data of the central bank, value of local currency (Taka) against almost all foreign currencies is showing declining trend for the last few months.
“We have initiated the move to make our export earnings steady by implementing some decisions,” Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Suvashis Bose told The New Nation on Wednesday.
“Although volume of our export increased significantly in the first quarter of the current financial year (FY), but price fall of local goods in the international markets has brought down our achievements compelling us to take the steps to keep the export growth intact,”
He hoped that after implementation of the decisions, there would be a steady growth in export earnings even in any adverse situation.
Suvashis Bose also said, “We’re also in talks with a number of countries to sign PTA, after which, we believe, export will be boosted.”
A director of the EPB, preferring anonymity, said, setting up of the country-specific export targets for the missions abroad would also help usher in a new era of business for local exporters.
“Many Bangladeshi missions abroad were assigned for creating market for local products in a number of countries, with mission-wise export target. For this reason, at the end of the year, the mission-wise export targets to many of the countries under the missions were achieved,” he said.
“Achievement of the missions would be added to the annual confidential report (ACR), so the people working in the missions would be active to fulfil their new target. Thus a new era of business would open up,” he said.
However, President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said the authority should concentrate on broadening regional market along with other initiatives. “Our export markets are cramped in some selected countries whereas there are some other opportunities around us which need to be discovered,” he said. He named China, India and some other regional markets as very potential for local exports.
“If the government can ensure an easy access of our products to these destinations, then the regional markets have the potential to emerge as another Europe or the USA,” he said on an upbeat note about the prospect of intra-regional trade.
Appreciating the recent initiatives, the EAB president urged the government to concentrate more on the regional markets.
