Govt to promote 11 products for export diversification

The government is set to provide all sorts of policy support to eleven domestic products to help diversify exports, commerce ministry officials said.
They said the products would be promoted under special supervision of the Export Promotion Bureau so that none can  misuse the support, the officials added.
The products include ship, medicine, furniture, electric home appliance, paper, rubber, ICT, frozen food (shrimp and fish), home and specialised textiles, jute and jute goods, printed material and packaging.
"We have identified eleven products to diversify our export items and also reduce reliance on three to five exportable items," EPB vice-chairman Suvashis Bosh told the FE Monday.
"Dependence on a few products for exports is risky for the economy. Besides, our study has showed that there are huge demands for the items across the globe," he added.
"After making a series of meetings with the stakeholders, we have selected the items. So we are hopeful that the initiative will have a positive impact on our national economy."
The EPB VC also said the government is ready to provide technical and financial support to the exporters, if necessary.  
However, a director of the EPB said the bureau has already started providing support to the sector insiders and are hopeful about seeing a positive impact soon.
"We will leave no stone unturned to achieve the goal of the project. We will soon initiate to help upgrade quality, increase productivity and ensure effective cultivation of the goods," he added.
Meanwhile, appreciating the government's initiatives, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Shameem Ahsan said there are good prospect of software exports but local companies could not exploit this due to the lack of government support.
"The government has long been providing different types of support to the IT sector but the support was in most cases misplaced. Now the initiative taken by EPB would help give a boost to the sector," the BASIS president said.
"There are many small software firms, which can neither give collateral to the banks nor can be flourished for want of required capital. If the EPB manages small amount of collateral-free loans, many companies would be able to develop international standard software," Mr Ahsan said.
President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed hailed the government's initiative intended to broaden the country's export basket.
"There are many products that have vast potential for export earnings. I thank the government and the EPB for the crucial step," he said. The FBCCI president urged the officials to try to diversify market for sustainable development of the country.