Businessmen for diversifying exports to boost earnings

FE Team | Published: November 24, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The country can boost its export earnings by diversifying product base such as drugs, electronic goods and ships besides the booming apparel industry, businesspeople said, urging the government to support the potential sectors, reports BSS. Bangladesh should not concentrate to a multi-billion dollar garment industry alone, rather it should give priority on shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, jute and electronics, they said. "We should not depend only on RMG industry for our export. We should also look at potential industries like pharmaceuticals, electronics, automobile and shipbuilding for the country's overall economic growth," said Salman F Rahman, Prime Minister's Private Sector Affairs Adviser. Mr Rahman, a former president of FBCCI, said there is no alternative to diversifying the country's export basket to fetch foreign exchange. Abdus Salam Murshedi, president of BGMEA, said it took vast time to propel the apparel industry to the leading position in the world market and pharmaceutical, jute and electronics sectors have the potential to follow the path of RMG industry in coming days. Referring to the local company Walton, senior vice-president of FBCCI Jashim Uddin said it has been proved how a local industry can grow faster if the government policy support is provided. Bangladesh now export high-quality seagoing vessels to Europe mainly in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands and the sector needs policy support for diversification to grab more export market, said Tariq-ul-Islam, executive director of Ananda Shipyard. Abdul Muktadir, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), said pharmaceutical industry plans to export pharmaceuticals to 120 countries instead of the current 84 destinations to give a big boost to the country's export earnings. M Lokman Hossain, officer-in-charge of International Marketing of Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd (Walton HIL), said the company has become a Bangladesh brand in the international market like other products such as Phillips, Singer, Sony and Samsung. He said locally made TV, refrigerator, motorcycle and AC are being exported to various destinations including the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. Walton got order worth Tk 500 million during the first four months of the current fiscal and it would surpass Tk 1.0 billion by the end of December, he said.