Policy support needed to meet $60b export target

Experts tell national stakeholder consultation workshop

To meet the USD 60 billion export target by 2021, urgent policy support is needed along with the strategy to boost export competitiveness, observed government and business stakeholders yesterday. Amid unrelenting slowdown in world trade flows and weakening of external competitiveness due to infrastructural bottlenecks and real exchange rate appreciation, the country's exports have come under severe pressure, they said.

The observations came at the national stakeholder consultation workshop titled ‘Export Diversification: Challenges and Priorities’, which was organised by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in Dhaka.

If the government could provide all necessary support, including the power supply, and business people work hard, the target would be met easily, pointed out commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, who was the chief guest at the event.

Bangladesh has become a model country for development, the minister said. “Bangladesh only exported three products—tea, jute and leather—worth USD 338 million just after the Liberation. At present, we export about 2,000 products worth more than USD 35 billion,” he added.

Admitting to some limitations, Tofail Ahmed gave the example of Vietnam, which has been able to transform fast due to some benefits like easy access to land and production facilities. "However, the business personnel in our country face a lot of hurdles," he noted.

The minister said that the diversification of exports and products depends on the initiatives taken by businesspersons and that the business community should be given more incentives.

Salman F Rahman, leading industrialist and private sector development affairs adviser to Bangladesh Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, chaired and moderated the workshop.

“We're struggling to achieve the USD 60 billion target. Looking at countries with similar population, our exports should grow to USD 100 billion within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Salman F Rahman emphasised the need for bonded warehouse facilities and cash-intensive support from the government to boost exports.

The support given through policies currently prevailing in the RMG sector should be extended to other export-oriented sectors, he said.  "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the right policy for the export sector. We should return to that policy to make the sector function in a more efficient manner," he added.

If necessary, bonded facilities would be provided to more sectors, said Nojibor Rahman, chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), in response to business industrialists, as they demanded more relaxation and supportive policies from the government to boost exports.

Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, economics teacher at Dhaka University, presented a keynote paper at the workshop. “Global trade declined in 2015 and 2016 in absolute value terms. But Bangladesh has shown great resilience by securing modest growth when most  economies reported declining exports,” he said.

However, in terms of various competitiveness indicators, trade infrastructures and logistics, Bangladesh lags behind its major competitors, he added.

Various national development strategies focus on an export-led growth and industrialisation strategy and thus the export-orientation in Bangladesh’s economy needs to be enhanced, he said.

Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, a prominent economist, said compared to other countries like India, China or Vietnam, the land and resource base is very limited for Bangladesh. Hence, Bangladesh will have to increase the manufacturing base promptly.

Bi-cycles, leather, plastic, pharmaceuticals, and ICT can be the next big export sectors, and subsidy and cash incentives should be provided to the thriving sectors for a longer period, he added.

Intra-RMG diversification is also very important in terms of net export growth from the perspective of Bangladesh, said Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD (Centre for Policy Dialogue).

FBCCI president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin stressed the importance of proper utilisation of resources and government support for the creation of a manufacturing base. Pointing that skill development is a big issue, he said: “To deal with the current trend, we must make our manpower skilled through training."

BEI president Farooq Sobhan made the welcome remarks. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) executive chairman Kazi M. Aminul Islam and Export Promotion Bureau vice-chairman Bijoy Bhattacharjee also spoke at the event.

Leading industrialists and senior government officials were present there.

Policy support needed to meet $60b export target

Experts tell national stakeholder consultation workshop

To meet the USD 60 billion export target by 2021, urgent policy support is needed along with the strategy to boost export competitiveness, observed government and business stakeholders yesterday. Amid unrelenting slowdown in world trade flows and weakening of external competitiveness due to infrastructural bottlenecks and real exchange rate appreciation, the countrys exports have come under severe pressure, they said. The observations came at the national stakeholder consultation workshop titled Export Diversification: Challenges and Priorities, which was organised by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in Dhaka. If the government could provide all necessary support, including the power supply, and business people work hard, the target would be met easily, pointed out commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, who was the chief guest at the event. Bangladesh has become a model country for development, the minister said. Bangladesh only exported three productstea, jute and leatherworth USD 338 million just after the Liberation. At present, we export about 2,000 products worth more than USD 35 billion, he added. Admitting to some limitations, Tofail Ahmed gave the example of Vietnam, which has been able to transform fast due to some benefits like easy access to land and production facilities. However, the business personnel in our country face a lot of hurdles, he noted. The minister said that the diversification of exports and products depends on the initiatives taken by businesspersons and that the business community should be given more incentives. Salman F Rahman, leading industrialist and private sector development affairs adviser to Bangladesh Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, chaired and moderated the workshop. Were struggling to achieve the USD 60 billion target. Looking at countries with similar population, our exports should grow to USD 100 billion within the shortest possible time, he said. Salman F Rahman emphasised the need for bonded warehouse facilities and cash-intensive support from the government to boost exports. The support given through policies currently prevailing in the RMG sector should be extended to other export-oriented sectors, he said. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the right policy for the export sector. We should return to that policy to make the sector function in a more efficient manner, he added. If necessary, bonded facilities would be provided to more sectors, said Nojibor Rahman, chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), in response to business industrialists, as they demanded more relaxation and supportive policies from the government to boost exports. Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, economics teacher at Dhaka University, presented a keynote paper at the workshop. Global trade declined in 2015 and 2016 in absolute value terms. But Bangladesh has shown great resilience by securing modest growth when most economies reported declining exports, he said. However, in terms of various competitiveness indicators, trade infrastructures and logistics, Bangladesh lags behind its major competitors, he added. Various national development strategies focus on an export-led growth and industrialisation strategy and thus the export-orientation in Bangladeshs economy needs to be enhanced, he said. Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, a prominent economist, said compared to other countries like India, China or Vietnam, the land and resource base is very limited for Bangladesh. Hence, Bangladesh will have to increase the manufacturing base promptly. Bi-cycles, leather, plastic, pharmaceuticals, and ICT can be the next big export sectors, and subsidy and cash incentives should be provided to the thriving sectors for a longer period, he added. Intra-RMG diversification is also very important in terms of net export growth from the perspective of Bangladesh, said Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD (Centre for Policy Dialogue). FBCCI president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin stressed the importance of proper utilisation of resources and government support for the creation of a manufacturing base. Pointing that skill development is a big issue, he said: To deal with the current trend, we must make our manpower skilled through training. BEI president Farooq Sobhan made the welcome remarks. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) executive chairman Kazi M. Aminul Islam and Export Promotion Bureau vice-chairman Bijoy Bhattacharjee also spoke at the event. Leading industrialists and senior government officials were present there.