High duty drag on garment exports to Thailand: MCCI

A top chamber leader Sunday urged Thai entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh banking on a welter of incentives Dhaka offers to foreign investors.
Syed Nasim Manzur, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Thai investors can tap the investment potentials in the areas of textiles, leather, paper and pulp, energy, tourism, healthcare, agro-based and agro-supporting industries by capitalizing on the country's comprehensive incentives regime.
His call came when a 25-member Thai business delegation, accompanied by officials from Thai Board of Investment (BoI) and Thai-Bangladesh Business Council (TBBC), held a meeting with the chamber in the city.
The delegation, led by the Deputy Secretary General of Thailand BoI Chokedee Kaewsang Thai, also expressed their willingness to invest in Bangladesh.
Vice president of MCCI Anis A. Khan described the areas of investments and opportunities existing in the country to help expand trade and investment between the two countries. He also appreciated the Thai government for providing partial duty concessions to 229 Bangladeshi products in two phases
Mr Khan, however, hit out at the Thai government for imposing 30-45 per cent duty on export of woven and knitwear products from Bangladesh-a prohibitively high rate, he said, inhibits exports of Bangladeshi readymade garment products to the southeast Asian nation.
 "But despite the high duties, Bangladesh apparel products are making their spaces in Thailand via third countries," he said.
He urged the Thai authorities to cut the duties, which will make Bangladesh apparels available at cheaper prices in the Thai market.
 "Dhaka has also recently sought duty and quota free market access of 24 products, mainly RMG products, to Bangkok," said the MCCI vice president adding that it would facilitate both the countries to reach the target to double the bilateral trade by 2016, set by the prime ministers of both the countries earlier.
The bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to US$ 780.61 million in the last fiscal (2013-14) with only US$ 39.61 million of exports to Thailand from Bangladesh. Exports during July-September period of current fiscal (2014-15) amounted to US$ 7.74 million only. Bangladesh imports vegetable and mineral products, plastics and plastic articles, rubber and rubber goods, textiles, paper board and articles from Thailand , while Bangladesh export jute goods, woven and knit garments, frozen foods and agro-products.
Thai BoI Secretary General Chokedee Kaewsang Thai appreciated Bangladesh RMG industry and said that the only drawback is branding and poor country image and expressed his willingness to work in this field in collaboration with Bangladesh entrepreneurs.
Members of the delegation having businesses in tourism, agro-products, foods, cosmetics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and food processing plants took part in the discussion and exchanged views with their counterparts in Bangladesh. Motiur Rahman, chairman and managing director of Uttara Motors, Eng Major Md. Jasim Uddin, Chairman, Bangladesh Cold Storage Association and some other renowned businessmen and entrepreneurs also exchanged views with Thai entrepreneurs.   
The business delegation arrived in Dhaka on Saturday to explore trade and investment opportunities for Bangladesh and Thailand.
Deputy Secretary General of Thailand BoI Chokedee Kaewsang is leading the 25-member business delegation which will be looking for partners in Bangladesh for joint ventures, said an official. The business leaders are representing textile, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetic, chemical process machineries, machinery parts, metal, plastic cold storage sectors.
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