Sustaining export growth of today\\\'s globalised economy

Globalisation has opened up new opportunities for Bangladesh, in terms of more export earnings and diversification of export items and market expansion. This is what Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina highlighted last Saturday while inaugurating the month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) '14.  She urged the country's businesses and entrepreneurs to direct focus on improvements of quality, branding of products and making those attractive, in addition to stepping up efforts for enhanced productivity. Furthermore, the Prime Minister called upon them to give attention to maintenance of congenial working conditions and ensuring work-place safety in order to be careful about retaining the reputation of their own products.

Bangladesh has still miles to go before achieving success in diversification of its export items as well exploration of their destinations. A good number of Bangladeshi products have been accorded quota-and duty-free access by many developed economies and fast developing ones. But the country's export basket remains yet skinny, it has not been able to exploit even a miniscule of the export potential in many overseas market. It is now relying on two major sectors for the lion's share of its foreign exchange earnings - readymade garments (RMG) and manpower. But dependence on one single merchandise export item - apparels - poses great risks to the country. The country badly needs to formulate its second generation trade policies to help diversify its export baskets and expand markets.

Presently, 55 per cent of the Bangladesh economy is otherwise integrated with the global one, through export receipts, import payments, foreign private capital and aid flows, remittance earnings etc. This is otherwise one of its notable positive aspects about the globalisation process. Now it is a major challenge for the country to find ways to maintain this linkage with the global economy and expand it further on a sustained footing. Given its present state of development and the socio-economic structure and its transformation that it is aspiring for, external trade has to play a more dynamic role. To help make this happen sooner rather than later, the next generation of trade policies merit consideration on a priority basis. The country will have to bring in changes in its domestic policies and create adequate infrastructural facilities and a congenial environment for promoting investment to reap the maximum benefits out of globalisation in the coming years. Besides, Bangladesh needs to explore opportunities of marketing its exportables in the emerging markets. This is more so because the country is now too much dependent on north American and the European Union (EU) markets, from where three-fourths of Bangladesh's export receipts do come. Pro-active, trade-supportive efforts, in concert with others, for regional cooperation can play here an important role.

Nowadays the process of producing quality products, in line with internationally accepted standards, has become equally important. To meet such standards, it is important to ensure access for exporters to all necessary cost-effective logistics and infrastructure-related facilities, in addition to creating modern working conditions at their factories.