R. Mahmud :
Almost half of the Bangladesh missions serving abroad are failing continuously to achieve export targets and there are allegations that exporters do not get proper help from them.
An evaluation report of Exports Promotions Bureau reveals that 25 missions out of 51 failed to attain export targets in the first half of the current fiscal year. Exporters frequently accuse that they do not get necessary help from the missions working abroad.
The Commerce Ministry is pressing for long for bringing changes in the services of the missions, but it did not work, sources said.
There were some big markets like Washington and London in the list of those failed missions.
The report shows that export earnings from 14 of the failed missions also decreased this year comparing with the same periods of last year. Bangkok and New Delhi including some others are in the list.
The report prepared on the data of the first half of the current fiscal year, also reveals that performance of commercial branches was the worst. At least 12 out of 17 commercial branches could not achieve their export targets.
When contacted, commerce minister Tofail Ahmed said that his ministry would take steps for skill development of the missions and widen the working fields of the commercial councilors soon.
He said that it was the government’s duty to give assistance to the business people and his government would extend its hands to assist businessmen as per their requirements.
