Muhith hopes to get rid of 6pc growth cycle

FE Report | Published: October 19, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Unhappy about a stagnating economic progress, Finance Minister AMA Muhith hopes that the country would soon get out of the 6.0 per cent growth cycle prevailing over the last several years.
"We've done badly in terms of a stagnant situation of the growth rate within the boundary of 5.7 per cent and 6.7 per cent over the last several years," he said.
"I'm not very happy about it."
The finance minister made the observations on the nation's economic health while addressing a function organised by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and attended by former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam as keynote speaker.
The leading trade body organised the programme in celebration of its 110 years at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
"I'm hoping forward to break this cycle as, so far, everything is going good. The coming months will be helpful and it is possible to get out of this cycle," the finance minister told his business audience.
He narrated how the situation was tackled amid the global financial crisis during the period stretching from 2007 through almost 2009.
 "It's nothing but a homemade policy," Mr Muhith said, indicating that it was a homespun cure for a foreign-bred economic ailment.             
 "We have decided in the period of crisis to stimulate domestic demand and we did it and simultaneously wanted to mobilise domestic resources. And that worked behind our success," he said.
 "These are the two policies in the last six years we are maintaining, which are fairly successful," he said about secrets regarding the resilience that economy attained.
Mr Muhith mentioned that a plenty of international partners had advised that export level be cut.
 "We refused their advice and went on along our own path …"
Despite many odds like diminishing arable land and limited trained labour force, Bangladesh has become self-sufficient in the food sector, he said.
 "This has been possible due to hard work of our illiterate farmers and limited-trained labour force and, above all, by the dedication and commitment of business community," the finance minister told the function.
Muhith lauded those who had assisted in formulating policies, including the MCCI.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, who also joined the function, said Bangladesh has maintained impressive track of growth record and development over the decades.
Mr Ahmed said the economy grew 6.0 per cent per year with human development growing hand in hand.
 "Poverty dropped nearly third coupled with improving life expectancy, per-capita income, literacy rate and food intake," he said.
The minister hoped within 2021 the country's exports will come to nearly $60billion.
 "This year our RMG export stood at $24.5bn and next year we projected the export would be $ 27bn. This is just by dint of hard work of businesspeople. Bangladesh is miracle," he said
In 1972, when Bangladesh got independence, it started with zero, he recalled.
"In 1972-73, our export was only $300mn from 25 items. Our exports in 2013-2014 financial year amounted to $30.19bn and our projected export in 2014-15 is $33.2bn."
Mr Ahmed said when the country had 75m people, it had faced food shortages. "Now the country has 160m people, but it is now self-sufficient in food. We have surplus of foods," he said.
The commerce minister mentioned that the government has decided to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri-Lanka. This is first time Bangladesh is going to export rice. "That is potential of Bangladesh today."
Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi said Bangladesh had progressed a lot in the last five years, as power generation increased 75 per cent and transportation sector was moving forward.
Referring to some mega-projects, including Padma Bridge, taken up by the government, he said these were possible as the industrialists and business houses and chambers played a great role in the development of Bangladesh.
MCCI president Rokia Afzal Rahman, who presided over the meeting, said in the last 110 years the chamber had lived through very tumultuous period of history, starting with partition of Bengal and birth of Pakistan and then independence of Bangladesh.
"We've created a history of our own," she said.   
"If the history of 110 years has been epochal, the changes that are yet to come will be nothing short of revolutionary. We believe it will reshape a society in ways that we cannot even imagine," she observed.
The chamber leader said globalisation has already fundamentally altered the way to do business through a technological revolution.
She posed questions if anybody could have predicted that Bangladesh would become second-largest RMG exporter in the world or a shipbuilder for European countries who dominated this sector ever since the industrial revolution or be of quality medicine producer in Asia, Latin America and Africa while knocking at the door of the US and Europe.
"It is in this ever-changing and globalised world that MCCI tries to provide the vision and tried to assist Bangladesh and its business leaders to find rightful place in the comity of nations," she said.
She said, "We cannot replicate the Chinese success but definitely bring about Bangladeshi miracle if the government gives us that crucial policy support that Chinese government gives to the private sector and South Korea government to the private sector."
jasimharoon@yahoo.com