Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The government on Thursday set US$37 billion export target for 2016-17 fiscal year, projecting an 8.06 per cent growth over the last fiscal.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed announced the target after a meeting with the export sector’s stakeholders at his Secretariat office in the city.
The target was fixed against the backdrop of deadly terror attacks in the country and uncertainty in the developed economies in the wake of Britain’s Brexit vote.
The exporters earlier said that the issues could leave an adverse impact on the country’s export trade to the EU and the US, two major markets for Bangladesh’s merchandises.
“The government has set the export target this year keeping in view the trends of export growth during the last five years. The target is reasonable if we analyze the recent trends,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told The New Nation yesterday.
Issues likes the government’s export promotion activities, incentives for export products and exploring new markets, macro economic indicators, fall out from Brexit and TTP, slow recovery in the global economy, low commodity prices in the global market and prolonged recession and economic turmoil in some countries around the globe have also considered in setting this year’s export target, he added.
When asked, the Minister said, the terror attack in Dhaka may not affect our exports as foreign buyers have already assured of staying with us while our shipments to EU countries is expected to remain unhurt despite the Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the European economic block. Tofail Ahmed also said that the suspension of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by the United States is yet to leave any adverse impact on Bangladesh’s exports to the country.
“We will achieve this year’s export target if the current trend of export growth continues in the months to come,” he hoped.
“It’s a reasonable target if we consider the ability of local industries as well as our present position in the global market,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation on Thursday. He said it appears that the government has set the target considering the export trend in the recent years, global market situation and challenges at home and abroad.
“Though there are some challenges like appreciation of taka against the US dollar, slow recovery of EU economy and security concern at home, the target is achievable,” said Murshedy.
He said the woven and knitwear exports will continue to grow this year to help achieving the target. Apparel export target for the current fiscal year has been fixed at US$30 billion. “Export sector did well in the immediate past fiscal year. But the country needs to give more emphasis to diversification in products and markets in the year to boost the export growth,” said Murshedy. The government had set US$33.50 billion target for the fiscal year 2015-16. But at the end of the year, the country’s export earnings surpass the target, reaching $34.27 billion with 9.72 per cent growth.
Of the total, the garment sector alone accounted for 82 per cent of the country’s export earnings. The country fetched US$31.20 billion from exports in the fiscal year 2014-15, growing 3.39 per cent over the previous fiscal.
