BD exports to Turkey cross $1.0b mark

Bangladesh's exports to Turkey crossed US$1.0-billion mark for the first time in 2013 following a significant rise in the shipment of garment products despite having safeguard measures there.

Increased shipments of some other products including non-knitted products, jute yarn and ceramics also helped enhance Bangladesh's earnings from Turkey, a statement issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

According to the statement, exports grew by more than 31 per cent in 2013 compared to that of 2012. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.2 billion showing the trade in favour of Bangladesh.

Citing TURKSTATE (Turkish Statistical Institute), it said, during the calendar year of 2013, Turkey's export to Bangladesh was $196 million while it imported products from Bangladesh worth $809 million.

In 2012, Bangladesh exported products worth over $766 million while imported products worth $214 million generating a trade volume of $980 million.

Bangladesh major exports are non-knitted garment, knit products, jute yarn and ceramics while it imports mainly iron/steel, machineries and cotton textiles.

In 2013, Bangladesh exported non-knit garment worth $542 million, knit items $238 million, jute yarn $183.5 million and ceramics $11million.

Following the safeguard duties imposed by Turkey on readymade garment imports from Bangladesh, along with many other countries, Bangladesh's merchandise shipments to that destination suffered in 2011 and 2012.

Turkey has slapped a safeguard duty at the rate of 17 per cent on import of apparel products from the least developed countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, with an aim to protect its domestic manufacturers.

Turkey also hiked the duty rates for apparel imports from the developing and other countries to 27 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Turkey announced the tariff imposition at the end of March 2011 and the duty came into effect from July 21, 2011. Bangladesh has nearly a $1.0 billion apparel market in Turkey.

But concerted efforts by the Bangladesh Embassy in Ankara through encouraging Turkish importers to import more from Bangladesh have helped to turn the situation around, reflecting a sustained growth of Bangladesh's export to Turkey in the last two years, the statement added.