Bangladesh will seek from Malaysia similar trade benefits the latter has offered to other members of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), officials said.
Besides, duty-free access of all products will also be sought during the Dhaka visit of Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed next week, they added.
Under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement, Malaysia has offered tariff cuts on nearly 8,000 items to its member-states. The tariff elimination has resulted in product price reductions throughout the ASEAN countries.
Like other major ASEAN members--Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei and Thailand-- Malaysia has downsized duties between zero and five per cent for all products.
A senior official at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told the FE that Bangladesh has a significant trade gap with Malaysia. "Unless Kuala Lumpur offers major tariff reduction, Dhaka won't be able to increase its exports and reduce the trade gap," he said.
He said presently various non-tariff barriers discourage Malaysian traders from importing goods from Bangladesh which need to be removed to raise exports there.
Another senior MoC official said Bangladesh had sought duty-free access of 19 products which cover 494 tariff lines. However, it granted duty-free access to only 197 tariff lines which did not include Bangladesh's major products.
He said during the meeting next week, Bangladesh will seek duty-free access of all its products to Malaysia to boost its exports there.
The official also said signing of a free trade area agreement (FTA) will also be discussed during the meeting with the Malaysian Minister.
In fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, Bangladesh exported goods worth US$135 million to Malaysia while its imports from there stood at $2.084 billion. Trade gap increased to $2.94 billion in FY 2013-14 from $1.17 billion in FY 2009-10.
The official also said Bangladesh imports huge volume of edible oil from Malaysia to meet its needs. It earns a significant volume of revenue from the import.
Opposing the move for signing a FTA with Malaysia, he said, it will eliminate tariffs on edible oil import. Thus Bangladesh will see a significant revenue loss.
Bangladesh mainly exports frozen food, agree-products, tea, chemical products, leather, raw jute, jute goods, knitwear, and woven garments to Malaysia.
On the other hand, its major imports from Malaysia include live animals, animal products, vegetable products, animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products, prepared edible fats, animal or vegetable waxes, prepared foodstuffs, beverages, sprits and vinegar, tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, mineral products, products of the chemical or allied industries, plastic, rubber, raw hides and skins, and leather.
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