The proposed national budget for FY 2026-27 has placed strong emphasis on safeguarding the competitiveness of Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) and textile sectors in the post-LDC era through a range of investment promotion, trade facilitation and industrialisation measures aimed at sustaining export growth.
Presenting the budget in parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury acknowledged that investment and industrialisation have remained below expectations in recent years due to weak investor confidence, policy uncertainty and lengthy approval procedures.
The budget seeks to address these challenges through regulatory reforms, digitalisation and business-friendly initiatives, he said.
A major priority of the budget is reducing the cost of doing business and improving the ease of doing business to improve the business climate, he added.
The finance minister said export-led industrial growth, particularly in the RMG and textile sectors, would require substantial investment and stronger industrial infrastructure to maintain competitiveness in global markets as the country prepares to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category.
To support industrial expansion, the government is strengthening economic zones and export processing zones (EPZs). New EPZs are being established in Patuakhali and Jashore, which are expected to create around 100,000 and 150,000 jobs respectively.
In addition, new EPZs and economic zones are planned in Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Chandpur and Kushtia as part of efforts to promote balanced regional industrialisation and employment generation.
The budget also highlights concerns over the potential loss of duty-free and quota-free market access following Bangladesh's graduation from LDC status.
To mitigate the impact, the government is pursuing a range of bilateral and regional trade arrangements, including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with prospective partner countries.
Reaffirming the strategic importance of the RMG sector, which accounts for nearly 82 per cent of the country's export earnings, the government also announced initiatives to diversify the export basket beyond garments.
Under the export diversification strategy, promotion efforts will focus on sectors such as handicrafts, home décor products, jute goods, natural cosmetics, toys and baby products.
To accelerate diversification, the government has extended duty-free bonded warehouse facilities and bank-guarantee-based import privileges for raw materials to a wider range of export-oriented industries, including food processing, light engineering, furniture, electronics, steel, plastics and leather.
Similar facilities will also be available for agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, electronics, light engineering, and gold and diamond processing industries.
Trade analysts said the proposed measures could help reduce Bangladesh's reliance on the garment sector while strengthening export resilience and enhancing competitiveness in the post-LDC period.
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