The government should look to increasing the rail connectivity to resolve the lead time problem in exports, business leaders said recently.
They also called for utilising the unused land of the ministry of railway for warehousing.
The views came during the latest Private Sector Development Policy Coordination Committee (PSDPCC) meeting.
The meeting took place Monday at the Prime Minister's Office.
"In order to reduce lead time, rail connectivity should be enhanced instead of depending fully on ports," said Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
At the same time, the unused land of the ministry of railway can be used for warehousing, said Alam.
His comments came when speakers at the meeting underscored the need for enhancing the efficiency of ports for reducing the lead time.
Senior secretary of the bridges division said that like Singapore, the system of Computerised Terminal Management System (CTMS) is in place in Bangladesh.
But it cannot be implemented properly because of some infrastructural deficiency, he added.
In this respect, he called for integrating the trade logistics in a holistic manner.
Speakers said that the activities of the ministry of shipping, NBR and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) need to be aligned in this regard.
Addressing the issue, principal secretary said that BIDA is working for increasing the ease of doing business.
Lead time problem can be resolved when the associated measures are implemented properly, he added.
Chief executive officer of PPP Authority Syed Afsor H Uddin said his agency was working for the privatisation of three ports.
The meeting also discussed the issue of simplification of the repatriation policy.
BIDA member Mainul Islam said that preparing a guideline for the repatriation of royalties, technical know-how and other fees is in process and will be circulated soon.
Member of the National Board of Revenue A F M Shahriar Molla said that some reforms will likely appear in the upcoming budget regarding tax at source for repatriation as well as inconsistencies in the income tax ordinance.
Officials said that the government is going to formulate value addition criteria for non-traditional export products in the upcoming export policy.
It will also include a new list of non-traditional products, definition of pro forma invoice and a definition of deemed export, commerce secretary Subhashish Bose told the meeting.
The principal secretary said that the government is going to declare jute an agro processing sector soon.
A circular in this regard will be issued after the budget, he said.
The meeting also discussed the issue of extending four per cent interest rate for tea just like other agricultural produce.
In this regard, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka Nihad Kabir said that a fund is waiting to be disbursed through Bangladesh Krishi Bank.
She also requested the ministry of commerce to act positively on this issue.
The meeting decided that the ministry of commerce will implement the issue through the ministry of finance and will report within three months.
Additional secretary of the planning division Fouzia Zafrin said that a draft of the coordinated CSR Policy has already been prepared and is waiting for the approval of the Banking Division.
Officials from the ministry of industries said that the ministry is working to update the Boiler Act of 1923.
The officials also said that the enhancement of manpower of the boiler office is under active consideration of the government and the ministry of industries has sent a proposal in this regard.
Officials of the ministry of industries also said that formulating a separate policy for the plastic sector is underway.
Industry leaders at the meeting also called for setting up a separate economic zone for plastic.
Executive member of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority M Emdadul Haque said that the proposal needs to be approved in the governing board of BEZA.
Director general of Bangladesh industrial Technical Assistance Centre Dr. Md Mofizur Rahman said that his agency is working for a tool institute.
He asked for support from EC4J Project for establishing a technology training centre for supporting this institute.
Director general of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Sardar Abul Kalam called for including more products in the Import Policy for mandatory standards.
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