Bangladesh failed to gain duty-free market access for its products to more than 150 countries due to lack of proper planning.
Realising the urgency of the matter, the government has taken a move to obtain such facilities in a number of countries such as Russia, Egypt and Malaysia, commerce ministry officials said.
Presently, Bangladesh has been enjoying this facility in a total of 38 countries, including 28 member states of the European Union (EU), said a senior official.
"Many countries want to build business relations with us. But we could not tap the potential due to lack of pro-active drive," said another official.
Sectors that stand to benefit from such a system include garments, textile fabrics, yarn, leather and non-traditional items, industry insiders said.
Developed and emerging economies could play a crucial role in helping development countries like Bangladesh improve their trade performance by allowing duty-free market access to their markets, they added.
"Having such facilities will help us propel trade with other countries, generate more employment and spur economic growth," said a commerce ministry official.
He estimated that Bangladesh's exports would increase by US$5.0 billion to $10 billion a year if countries in Africa, Latin America and southwest Asia offer free market access.
Contacted, additional secretary of the commerce ministry Md Shafiqul Islam said the government is sincerely trying to get duty-free market access to a number of countries to raise export earnings.
Chile, a South American country, has given duty-free market access facility to Bangladesh, he added.
A senior official of the ministry said that only India has given duty- and quota-free market access to all Bangladeshi products, except tobacco and drug-related items, under SAFTA of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC).
Bangladeshi products that are enjoying duty-free access include readymade garments, knitwear items, shrimp, ceramics, plastics products, leather and jute goods, home textiles, bicycles and pharmaceuticals items, he mentioned.
The government has been sending trade delegations to different countries to explore markets for Bangladeshi products, he added.
The government has also stepped up efforts to strengthen trade relations and sign bilateral trade agreements with different countries to boost exports from Bangladesh, he said.
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