Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh’s ranking slipped to 100 in the 2018 World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI), indicating that it was maintaining a low level of logistics efficiency, which can deter foreign investment and trade expansion.
Two years ago, Bangladesh was ranked 87 scoring 2.66 points.
The World Bank (WB) released its biannual LPI report on Wednesday analyzing logistics infrastructures of 167 countries across six components i.e.: efficiency of the clearance process by border control agencies, quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, quality of logistics services, ability to track consignments and timeliness of shipments.
Germany ranked top in the World Bank latest LPI scoring 4.20 points, followed by Sweden (4.05 points) and Belgium (4.04 points).
Bangladesh’s score in the 2018 LPI was 2.58.
“The drop in ranking is a matter of concern for the country when it is expecting big foreign investment across sectors to achieve a higher GDP growth and sustainable development,” Dr Zahid Hussain, Lead Economist at WB’s Dhaka office told The New Nation yesterday.
The LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.According to World Bank, better overall logistics performance and trade facilitation are strongly associated with trade expansion, export diversification, attractiveness to foreign direct investment and economic growth.
“But Bangladesh has seriously lagged behind the required pace in developing required logistics infrastructure to support growth in international trade and attract foreign investment,” said Dr Zahid Hussain.
He said the efficiency of a country’s supply chain depends on specific features of its logistics performance. Poor logistics infrastructure leads to unreliable supply chain ultimately affecting competitiveness of local merchandises in the global market.
Expressing concern on the falling LPI ranking, economist Dr Ahsan H. Mansur said that it reflects some weaknesses in our logistics system.
“Bangladesh is among the fastest growing economies in the globe and it is moving from LDC to developing country,” he said, adding, “Bangladesh has to sustain strong growth over the coming years to achieve the status. Developing a better logistics infrastructure is a must to support the goal.”
The logistics infrastructure covers road, rail, waterways and air network.
“In the era of globalization, an ideal logistics sector can help seamless flow of goods and services from Bangladesh to overseas markets. Local products will lose the competitive edge if not backed by efficient logistics support,” cautioned Dr Ahsan H. Mansur.
He said the government should provide an enabling logistics environment for supporting high export growth and attracting considerable foreign investment.
Bangladesh’s ranking slipped to 100 in the 2018 World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI), indicating that it was maintaining a low level of logistics efficiency, which can deter foreign investment and trade expansion.
Two years ago, Bangladesh was ranked 87 scoring 2.66 points.
The World Bank (WB) released its biannual LPI report on Wednesday analyzing logistics infrastructures of 167 countries across six components i.e.: efficiency of the clearance process by border control agencies, quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, quality of logistics services, ability to track consignments and timeliness of shipments.
Germany ranked top in the World Bank latest LPI scoring 4.20 points, followed by Sweden (4.05 points) and Belgium (4.04 points).
Bangladesh’s score in the 2018 LPI was 2.58.
“The drop in ranking is a matter of concern for the country when it is expecting big foreign investment across sectors to achieve a higher GDP growth and sustainable development,” Dr Zahid Hussain, Lead Economist at WB’s Dhaka office told The New Nation yesterday.
The LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.According to World Bank, better overall logistics performance and trade facilitation are strongly associated with trade expansion, export diversification, attractiveness to foreign direct investment and economic growth.
“But Bangladesh has seriously lagged behind the required pace in developing required logistics infrastructure to support growth in international trade and attract foreign investment,” said Dr Zahid Hussain.
He said the efficiency of a country’s supply chain depends on specific features of its logistics performance. Poor logistics infrastructure leads to unreliable supply chain ultimately affecting competitiveness of local merchandises in the global market.
Expressing concern on the falling LPI ranking, economist Dr Ahsan H. Mansur said that it reflects some weaknesses in our logistics system.
“Bangladesh is among the fastest growing economies in the globe and it is moving from LDC to developing country,” he said, adding, “Bangladesh has to sustain strong growth over the coming years to achieve the status. Developing a better logistics infrastructure is a must to support the goal.”
The logistics infrastructure covers road, rail, waterways and air network.
“In the era of globalization, an ideal logistics sector can help seamless flow of goods and services from Bangladesh to overseas markets. Local products will lose the competitive edge if not backed by efficient logistics support,” cautioned Dr Ahsan H. Mansur.
He said the government should provide an enabling logistics environment for supporting high export growth and attracting considerable foreign investment.
