Experts at a programme on Thursday suggested that the government should provide bonded warehouse and back-to-back LC facilities to emerging export-oriented sectors as enjoyed by ready-made garment (RMG) to help diversify the country's export basket.
According to them, potential sectors like pharmaceutical, leather goods and footwear, light engineering and plastic need more policy support and cash incentives for attaining a US$ 60-billion export target by 2021.
Without policy support, they said, it will be very difficult to achieve the $60-billion export target within the stipulated time due to a recent slowdown in world trade flow and weakening of external competitiveness for lack of infrastructures, energy deficit and real exchange rate appreciation.
The suggestions and observations were made at a stakeholder consultation workshop titled 'Export Diversification: Challenges and Priorities' organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) at the conference room of IFIC Tower in the city's Purana Paltan area.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed attended the programme as chief guest while noted economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Nojibur Rahman, BIDA executive chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) distinguished fellow Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and BEI president Farooq Sobhan spoke on the occasion with Prime Minister's private sector development adviser and BEI board of governors chairman Salman F Rahman in the chair.
Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, BEI project leader (trade and investment) and head of International Trade Policy at the Commonwealth Secretariat based in London, presented the keynote paper titled 'Revitalising Bangladesh's Export Trade: Policy Issues for Growth Acceleration and Diversification'.
He said Bangladesh's export-GDP declined from almost 20 per cent in 2011 to 16.6 per cent in 2016. But the share was projected to increase to 23.9 per cent in the Sixth Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
According to World Trade Organisation (WTO), the global trade expansion rate this year is expected to be modest at 3.6 per cent which will create immense competition to recover the economies, he said.
Mr Razzaque also said an annual export growth of more than 15 per cent will be needed in next four years for the RMG sector to achieve $50 billion target by 2021 while export receipts from the sector amounted to just over $28 billion in 2016-17.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahmud said land and resource base is very limited for Bangladesh compared to competitor countries like India, China or Vietnam.
Mr Salman Rahman said bonded warehouse and back-to-back LC facilities should be opened for leather goods, furniture and some other sectors.
Terming anti-export bias a key problem in the country's export industry, he said, "We need export diversification but not at the cost of RMG sector."
The commerce minister said the government will provide policy support to the businesses to reach the envisaged goal of exporting $60 billion products and services.
Mr Ahmed also said the government is planning to provide 10 per cent cash incentive to the pharmaceutical sector considering it one of the most potential export sectors.
CPD distinguished fellow Mr Rahman said, "We need to learn from policies of our competitors like India and China to find out what measures they are taking in terms of export growth."
Expressing the hope that Bangladesh will graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2024, he said the country will lose many of its export privileges in global trade after graduating from LDCs. "So, the government should initiate steps to provide these facilities as early as possible like other LDCs."
The FBCCI president said electricity pricing should be stable and port facility should be ensured to help the businesspeople competing in the global market in finding new markets.
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