Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked exporters to be more careful to bring back money that is used for export and maintain balance in import and export.

"We need to urgently maintain balance in import and export. I will urge everyone to be more careful about that," she said.

The prime minister said this while inaugurating the month-long 28th Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) at Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre (BBCFEC) at Purbachal.

She also put emphasis on searching for new markets and products for the export basket to reduce dependency on handful of destinations.

"For that we need to look for new products, new destinations and markets abroad. We should not be dependent on one or two markets worldwide," she said.

In this connection, she mentioned that Bangladesh has to overcome various types of hurdles and barriers to send its export items worldwide.

Hasina, chief of the ruling Awami League, said in the party's manifesto for the January 7 election that the Awami League projected export earnings at $150 billion by 2030.

"But for that we have to catch new markets, and our time is short. Above all, if we have fixed targets, it will be easy to attain those. We want to work in this way," she said.

State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mahbubul Alam, and vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) AHM Ahsan also spoke at the programme.

From the inaugural programme, the prime minister also declared Handicrafts Products as the product of 2024.

A documentary on the export trading of the country was screened at the programme.