Resolving domestic bottlenecks, including energy shortages, customs delays, and improving the business environment, is crucial to achieving Bangladesh鈥檚 ambitious export target for the financial year 2025-26, exporters said.
They also stated that resolving banking complications, congested ports, transport bottlenecks, and law-and-order challenges, many of which have persisted for years, are essential to achieving the export targets.
On August 12, the Commerce Ministry set a target to ensure shipment of $63.5 billion for FY26, 16.5 per cent higher than the overall receipt in FY25.
Of the new target, $55 billion is expected to come from goods and $8.5 billion from services.
In FY25, Bangladesh earned $48.28 billion from exporting goods, which was 8.58 per cent higher than the $44.46 billion earned in FY24.
Bangladesh has to achieve 13.92 per cent positive growth in the current FY to reach the target of $55 billion from exporting products.
Commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin described the target as 鈥榪uite conservative鈥�, and expressed hope that actual exports would exceed expectations.
He also stated that Bangladesh was working on market and product expansion, negotiating free trade agreements with Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, and emphasising the need to maximize duty-free market access.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, however, told 抖阴精品 that if the gas crisis, banking instability, customs inefficiencies, and law-and-order issues were resolved, they could exceed the export target.
In FY25, the readymade garment sector earned $39.35 billion, and in FY26, the government tasked the industry with $44.49 billion, approximately 13 per cent higher than the target.
鈥楾he government should focus on resolving customs, ports, and NBR-related issues. It takes about 15 days and more than 200 per cent of penalty to fix a minor HS code mistake or test chemical,鈥� he added.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mohammad Hatem said that government incentives and subsidies might no longer be possible when Bangladesh graduates from LDC status.
鈥榃e need an alternative plan to achieve the target. Issues such as energy shortages, banking complications, customs delays, congested ports, transport bottlenecks, and law-and-order challenges must be resolved immediately,鈥� he added.
He also said that establishing a central bonded warehouse could streamline imports of raw materials for smaller exporters.
The target for the leather and leather goods was set at $1.25 billion, and the earnings from this sector were $1.14 billion in FY25.
Md Nasir Khan, vice president of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said that the leather sector had been stuck in $1 billion cycle for decades due to the lack of governmental policy support.
鈥楾he sector would only be able to reach the target if it gets policy support, including simplified customs, removal of corruption, and a good business environment,鈥� he added.
He also urged the government to focus on making value addition and establishing a capable central Effluent Treatment Plant.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said that the target is challenging but would rely solely on the readymade garment sector.
鈥榃e have to address the US tariff issues; however, due to higher tariffs on China and India, Bangladesh would sit in a more favourable position,鈥� he added, saying that the government must provide adequate policy support.
The issues like customs, ports, lead time, and creating a favourable business environment must be ensured by the government to achieve this target, he added.
The businesses also stated that there was still uncertainty regarding global trade dynamics, and the potential US tariff might frequently alter the international trade scenario.
They said that they were still optimistic that once these bottlenecks were addressed, exports could surpass the set target.
