Export to US down nearly 5 percent

Shipment to Bangladesh's single largest export destination is down by 4.93 percent in the first ten months of the current fiscal. Bangladeshi products are facing stiff competition from countries like Vietnam, Turkey, China and India – none of whom have to pay the 15.62 percent duty that we do. Hence in terms of price competitiveness, our producers are losing the game. The fact that the Bangladesh Taka is riding strong against the dollar is not helping the situation and while calls have been made to devalue the currency, the biggest problem we are facing has everything to do with our ineffective cargo handling, both sea and air.

In addition, the long lead times involved in shipment of raw materials inbound and finished products outbound at Hazrat Shahjalal Airport and Chittagong port are causing Bangladesh to fall behind Vietnam and China. The RMG export market to the US was worth around USD 537.6 million in January and has slipped down to USD 422.7 million in April of this year.

When it comes to RMG, Bangladesh unfortunately lags behind its biggest competitors since 40 percent of fabrics need to be imported due to the inability of local industry to meet needs on time. Gearing up local yarn makers to become more efficient is a long term affair. But surely we can do to something to increase the efficiency of the airport and Chittagong port? These problems need to be settled quickly if we do not want competing countries to pick up Bangladeshi orders due to our inefficient handling of cargo.