The government is trying to secure duty free market access of Bangladesh garment products to the Russian market at a time when the country’s export to that market is hitting closer to one billion dollar.
The Russian government offers duty free market access to 71 products line and Dhaka is looking for inclusion of the garment items in that list, the official sources said.
"The early inclusion of apparel items in the duty-free list will provide boost to our exports," BGMEA Vice president Nasiruddin Ahmed told the FE Wednesday while talking on the country's new export destinations.
Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed said Bangladesh government had requested the Russian government about a year back for the inclusion of garment items in the duty-free list, in addition to the trade commission of the three-nation customs union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakistan.
The government has also written separately to the three governments and discussion is in progress. Mahbub said the consent of these three countries is important because like the European Union (EU), the Russ-Belarus-Kazak customs union shares the common market and trade and tariff policies and if a product enters one market it can move to two other markets without restrictions. So the three nations' consent is required, he said.
Meanwhile the garment export is on steady rise coming out of the shadow of the disasters that had hit the industry last year. Vice chairman of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Shubhasish Basu said Bangladesh garment exports to the USA recorded a $200 million increase during the first 10 months of this fiscal compared to the same of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
He said the GSP issue is not affecting the apparel exports since the facility does not cover the apparel exports from Bangladesh. The commerce secretary also confirmed the rise in garment exports to the USA and said one should not mix garment exports with GSP any way.
He said, in fact the US generalised system of preference (GSP) is now not in place for its legal authorisation expired on July 31, 2013. The US Congress is likely to extend the GSP programme soon, according the Bangladesh mission in Washington.
Bangladesh garments enter the US market making payment of customs duties at standard rates while the non-tariff issues like labour safety at work place and standard wage rates and other relevant issues are being dealt with separately with concerned agencies.
Basu said the government is also trying to enter the Latin American market this time while the industry leaders are working hard to make greater presence of Bangladesh made apparels in the Japanese market. They are convinced that Japanese buyers are showing more interest in apparels from Bangladesh because of their high quality and low cost. The industry leaders are expecting the exports to Japan to increase further after the Bangladesh Prime Minister's visit to Tokyo last month. Bangladesh's garment export to Japan is closer to 500 million at the moment.
Meanwhile, as Basu said the Chilean government has agreed to offer duty free market access to Bangladesh's garment products from July 1 next year. But industry leaders said visa problem is emerging as the biggest obstacle to reach the market.
Nasiruddin Ahmed said his firm has received an export order from a Chilean buyer but he does not know where from he would get the visa and how to process it. The government must work to make visa easily available.
The government is also planning to send trade delegations to Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay to reach more buyers in the Latin American continent. This is part of a market diversification move while the industry is also diversifying products and going for more quality products, the EPB vice chairman said.
His organisation will also hold a single country fair in Canada where garment exports have significantly risen in the recent years.
They are also preparing to take part in a trade fair in Australia. AS per EPB estimates, the overall exports earning this year is likely to be over $30.5 billion including over $22 billion from garment exports. The export growth will be between 14 to 15 per cent this fiscal. They are targeting $35 billion export during the upcoming fiscal 2014-15, he said.
