‘Poor infra major barrier to increasing exports’

 ‘Poor infra major barrier to increasing exports

Bangladesh’s exports will suffer unless infrastructure deficiencies are addressed immediately, observed a Prothom Alo roundtable on Thursday.

The discussants drew attention to poor conditions of roads, inadequate power supply affecting industries, and delay in shipment of exportables at the Chittagong port.

They also blamed public organisations such as National Board of Revenue (NBR) for creating problems that hamper smooth operation of business.

Bangla daily Prothom Alo, in collaboration with HSBC Bank, organised the roundtable on ‘Export potentials and catalyst forces’ at its Karwan Bazar office in Dhaka.

“The country’s roads are really, really in a bad shape,” president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Siddiqur Rahman told the meeting.

Dwelling on the constraints of exports, Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) president Md Saiful Islam said, “The more the lead time [time between initiation and execution of a business process] is, the more unfavourable is the condition for doing business.”

He pointed out that Chittagong port authorities have four gantry cranes and of them, two remained non-functional now. “They don’t seem to have any contingency planning for serving the businesses,” he regretted.

The business leader stressed the need for improving infrastructures for reaching the initial target of increasing export earning to 25 per cent from the sectors other than readymade garments (RMG) sector which accounts for 82 per cent of annual national exports.

He also recommended raising capacity of Shahjalal International Airport’s cargo handling for helping the exporters.

BGMEA’s Siddiqur Rahman partially blamed the traders themselves for the congestion at Chittagong port, saying that many of them do not want to take deliveries in time, especially during the Eid holidays and monsoon season.

Referring to 6 per cent annual growth or $15 billion added to the economy, Viyellatex Group chairman KM Rezaul Hasanat questioned: “Do we have infrastructures to use that money to add value?”

Former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Haque cited the example of the government plan to import LNG (liquified natural gas) as altenative source of energy and said, “As an investor I don’t know what its price would be.”

Sadat Jute Industries Ltd managing director Mahmudul Huq described state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) as a cancer-ridden entity for its failure to run public sector jute mills profitably.

He mentioned that the country exported 20,000 tonnes of jute yarn in 1980, when the public sector played the key role in jute exports. The export has now increased to 675,000 tonnes a year, thanks to private sector participation, he pointed out. “This happened without any government help,” he added.

State minister for finance and planning MA Mannan assured the businessmen of looking into the issues raised.

He, however, admitted that it is not easy to bring reforms, especially in organisations such as NBR that brings money for the government.

Former chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) Abu Taher, IT firm Brain Station 23 chief executive officer Raisul Kabir, CPD’s Zafar Sadiq, HSBC Bangladesh chief executive officer Francois de Maricourt, and HSBC Bangladesh’s country head of global trend and receivable finance Md Shahiduzaman also addressed the roundtable moderated by Prothom Alo associate editor Abdul Quayum.

‘Poor infra major barrier to increasing exports’

Sourch :Prothom Alo