Export can be raised to $150 billion by focusing on key sectors: Muktadir

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir on Tuesday said Bangladesh could increase its annual export earnings to $150 billion by developing five to seven promising sectors through targeted planning, policy support, research and skilled human resource.

The minister made the remarks while speaking as chief guest at a consultation workshop held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital.

He said country’s export economy could be transformed if potential sectors were nurtured with the right strategies and institutional support.

The workshop was organised to present a Development Project Proposal (DPP) based on a report titled Competitiveness Assessment of Bangladesh’s Potential Private Sectors.

The minister said that Bangladesh has already fulfilled all the conditions for graduating from the status of a least developed country (LDC).

Now the biggest challenge is to survive in global competition in the post-graduation period and further strengthen the country’s position in the international market.

“If specific strategies and long-term plans are adopted focusing on five to seven potential sectors, it is possible to bring about a radical change in the country’s export economy. There is an opportunity to increase the current export earnings of $50-55 billion to $150 billion.”

To achieve this goal, he emphasized on developing skilled human resources, increasing investment in research and innovation, and quickly adapting the industrial sector to modern technology.

The commerce minister specifically highlighted the potential of leather, light engineering, and jute-based industries and said that initiatives are being taken to transform the existing infrastructure in these sectors into international standard skill development centers.

If these centers are operated in collaboration with internationally renowned institutions, the competitiveness of the domestic industry will increase significantly.

Regarding the jute sector, he said, if emphasis is given to the production of value-added jute products and jute fabrics instead of exporting raw jute, it is possible to increase export earnings several times.

Initiatives are being taken to increase international cooperation to strengthen research, technology development, and innovative activities in this sector.

Calling for an effective partnership between the government, private sector and academia, he said that there should be a system for evaluating the results at each stage of project implementation, learning from the experiences of developed countries.

Commerce secretary MdAtaurRahman Khan said that an initiative has been taken to undertake an integrated project worth about Tk3,000crore to address the challenges post-LDC transition and increase the country’s export capacity.

He said the second phase of the project would formulate sector-specific action plans based on the practical needs and experiences of private-sector stakeholders.

Feedback from business organisations, government agencies, development partners and experts would help shape the final DPP.

The secretary said the project would focus on export sector recovery, reconstruction and capacity building in line with national budget priorities. He added that it could be implemented under the Ministry of Commerce, with the Export Promotion Bureau likely to serve as the implementing agency.

The project would prioritise ease of doing business, digitalisation, policy support and process simplification, aiming to create a sustainable model for export growth through coordinated public-private collaboration, he said.

Among others, EC4J Project Director Sheikh Mohammad AbdurRahman and World Bank Senior Private Sector Specialist HosnaFerdousSumi addressed the workshop. Representatives from various industries, business leaders, policymakers and government officials also attended.