Dependence on foreign goods on sharp fall

Foreign products, especially manufactured goods, are gradually being replaced in Bangladesh with locally-produced items, thanks to the country’s strong manufacturing base and the government’s policy support to grow local industries. Once upon a time, foreign products used to dominate in Bangladesh for obvious reason as there was no alternative to relying on those products to meet local requirement but now the country is now shifting its position from the overdependence on those foreign goods. In course of time, many local items such as readymade garment (RMG), shipbuilding, pharmaceutical, electronics, jute and jute goods, plastic, furniture, cement, ICT, agriculture and agro- processed foods are not only dominating in Bangladesh now but also surpassing foreign products. Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Additional Research Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said gradual expansion of local market in the light of increasing demand of necessary industrial goods is leading local industries to become export-oriented ones. He cited examples of cement, electronic and pharmaceutical industries saying that at first those industries expanded here in local market and later those industries started exporting exportable to many countries. Selim H Rahman, a leader of Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association (BFEA, said, ‘The replacement of foreign goods with local ones is definitely a positive sign and this credit goes to the large number of young entrepreneurs who are also diversifying their products.’ Bangladesh has the potential to export huge volume of furniture products subject to the cash incentive on export, he said. Shahedul Islam (Helal), a former president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), said almost all goods need for daily life is now produced in Bangladesh. Tariq-ul-Islam, Executive Director of Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd (ASSL), said the shifting of Bangladesh from foreign goods is a part of globalisation and trade liberalisation. He laid emphasis on expediting export diversification to give the local industrial base a fillip. Besides, he said, many industries especially shipbuilding one have developed targeting export market while dependence on foreign goods is on the fall as local industries are gradually becoming competitive, according to BSS.