EPB renovates trade centre to bridge buyer-exporter gap

FE Team | Published: August 25, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Naim-Ul-Karim
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has renovated and expanded its Trade Information Centre (TIC) with all modern facilities aiming to narrow down the gap between foreign buyers and local exporters for boosting the country's foreign trade.
"We are contemplating to offer more facilities to the exporters, help them achieve the country's export target of Tk 13.50 billion set for the current fiscal year 2007-08," an EPB official said.
He said currently, TIC maintains a rich commercial library where trade directories, statistical and product wise market data of different countries, publications of World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank and other national and international organisations are available.
He said, "You will get here the market survey of ten commodities of EU, computerised country and product profile of major exportable items, international trade statistics on exports and imports and journals published by different trade bodies, chambers and associations."
The EPB official said the TIC's Internet corner provides electronic access to national and international trade information.
He said export-related business community and companies are eligible for membership on payment of yearly subscription fee of Tk 700.
The non-members are also eligible to take the facility on payment of service charge at the rate of Tk 20 per hour.
The state-owned EPB is authorised by Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC) to operate its two unique online trade databases --product map and trade map-- in Bangladesh.
An online database of Trade Map provides export and import profiles of over 5,300 products of 224 countries of the world.
The Product Map is a web portal, which presents trade information for 72 product clusters. The product clusters range from agricultural machinery to wood items.
Access to these databases is possible on payment of a subscription fee of Tk 1000 yearly, the EPB official said.
When asked, he said the German Agency for technical cooperation (GTZ) extended its support to the EPB to its renovation and modernisation work of the TIC.
The TIC remains open every day excepting Friday and Saturday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
BSS adds, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)will organise 21 trade fairs and five single county fairs in different countries during the current fiscal 2007-08 to explore newer markets for Bangladeshi products and boost exports.
EPB Director(Fair) AMM Azhar told the news agency Friday that Bangladesh would organise fairs in different countries including the USA, Germany, Kenya, Vietnam, Turkey, the UAE, Italy, Russia, Japan, Honk Kong, Nepal, Senegal, India, Myanmar, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Chine and Canada during this fiscal.
'The number of the fairs will be increased if any country invites us to join in its international fair during the current
fiscal', he said.
Azhar also said, they gave priority to those countries for organising fairs, where the use of Bangladeshi products is less.
A fair of readymade garment will be organised in Russia, as Russians are yet to be used to the Bangladeshi ready-to-wear
products though Moscow had a large market, he said.
A single country fair on pharmaceutical products will be organised by the EPB in Vietnam, he said.
Various local products including readymade garments, leather and leather goods, shoes, pharmaceuticals, handicraft, plastic items, sea fish, bicycle, ceramics and ICT will be available in these upcoming fairs abroad, he said.