Improving standards and testing to increase exports
Monday, 22 November 2010
Md Ismail Khan
ONE of the vital areas to aid stepped-up economic activities, specially in the area of exports, is yet to be properly developed in Bangladesh. This is the in the sphere of correctly evaluating standards of goods and testing to determine their quality and other aspects.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) is the lone organization in the field. But as a government operated body it suffers from all the ills associated with bureaucracy, irregularities and lack of proper equipment and all sorts of paraphernalia to do its work with effectiveness. If BSTI had been a functionally acceptable organization to all inside and outside the country, then it could discharge an invaluable role in facilitating the export trade of the country. But in its current state, it is allegedly failing to play such a role.
One would like to note here Bangladesh’s good prospects for trading with the north eastern Indian states. Problems of smooth geographical access as well as the costs of freighting goods from the rest of India to these virtually land-locked states make Bangladesh a natural alternative source of supply of many of these goods to these states. But the expected large volumes of various types of goods from Bangladesh face entry problems in north eastern India as the Indian authorities consider BSTI certified products as undependable. Some critics in Bangladesh are prone to describing such restrictions as non-tariff barriers but in all fairness the reality is that the Indian objections in, at least, some cases could prove to be valid on follow-ups by any other dependable authorities.
In fact, charges are also made frequently by consumers from within Bangladesh itself about the dubious nature of BSTI certification. It is credibly alleged that BSTI’s certificates of standards and testing can be purchased relatively easily through graft. Rent-seeking instincts pervade this organization which make it possible on the part of producers to obtain certification from BSTI that their products or produces have duly met the criterion as properly made or produced. In many cases, the certifications are issued, based on lower than the normal level of testing that would be required to carry out the tests with full rigours. The lack of physical capacities of BSTI, in terms of both equipment and manpower, is the one of the causes of this.
It is thought that Bangladesh’s exports to India can increase substantially from Bangladesh building up proper centres for testing and standards within its territories. Substantial quantities of goods exported from Bangladesh do reportedly lie at Indian customs points for months before these can be tested by such centres in India and given clearance. If such testing, following international standard, could be conducted in Bangladesh, then the export operations could be completed faster. A great deal more could then be exported to the neighbouring country with which Bangladesh currently runs a big trade deficit.
Not only India, other countries that import products from Bangladesh such as the European Union (EU), have also been found to raise objections and sometimes send back export items like shrimps, complaining insufficient testing for safety. Thus, BSTI urgently needs upgrading to overcome such problems on a lasting basis. The recently available Indian credit to Bangladesh has provided for the establishment of quality testing institutions and to upgrade them. The part of the credit to this end ought to be utilized at the fastest specially to revamp BSTI. Other proposals to build such centres on a private-public partnership (PPP) basis should be promoted.
ONE of the vital areas to aid stepped-up economic activities, specially in the area of exports, is yet to be properly developed in Bangladesh. This is the in the sphere of correctly evaluating standards of goods and testing to determine their quality and other aspects.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) is the lone organization in the field. But as a government operated body it suffers from all the ills associated with bureaucracy, irregularities and lack of proper equipment and all sorts of paraphernalia to do its work with effectiveness. If BSTI had been a functionally acceptable organization to all inside and outside the country, then it could discharge an invaluable role in facilitating the export trade of the country. But in its current state, it is allegedly failing to play such a role.
One would like to note here Bangladesh’s good prospects for trading with the north eastern Indian states. Problems of smooth geographical access as well as the costs of freighting goods from the rest of India to these virtually land-locked states make Bangladesh a natural alternative source of supply of many of these goods to these states. But the expected large volumes of various types of goods from Bangladesh face entry problems in north eastern India as the Indian authorities consider BSTI certified products as undependable. Some critics in Bangladesh are prone to describing such restrictions as non-tariff barriers but in all fairness the reality is that the Indian objections in, at least, some cases could prove to be valid on follow-ups by any other dependable authorities.
In fact, charges are also made frequently by consumers from within Bangladesh itself about the dubious nature of BSTI certification. It is credibly alleged that BSTI’s certificates of standards and testing can be purchased relatively easily through graft. Rent-seeking instincts pervade this organization which make it possible on the part of producers to obtain certification from BSTI that their products or produces have duly met the criterion as properly made or produced. In many cases, the certifications are issued, based on lower than the normal level of testing that would be required to carry out the tests with full rigours. The lack of physical capacities of BSTI, in terms of both equipment and manpower, is the one of the causes of this.
It is thought that Bangladesh’s exports to India can increase substantially from Bangladesh building up proper centres for testing and standards within its territories. Substantial quantities of goods exported from Bangladesh do reportedly lie at Indian customs points for months before these can be tested by such centres in India and given clearance. If such testing, following international standard, could be conducted in Bangladesh, then the export operations could be completed faster. A great deal more could then be exported to the neighbouring country with which Bangladesh currently runs a big trade deficit.
Not only India, other countries that import products from Bangladesh such as the European Union (EU), have also been found to raise objections and sometimes send back export items like shrimps, complaining insufficient testing for safety. Thus, BSTI urgently needs upgrading to overcome such problems on a lasting basis. The recently available Indian credit to Bangladesh has provided for the establishment of quality testing institutions and to upgrade them. The part of the credit to this end ought to be utilized at the fastest specially to revamp BSTI. Other proposals to build such centres on a private-public partnership (PPP) basis should be promoted.