Bangladesh: Tariff, non-tariff barriers hinder export growth

28/05/2015 12:00 - 523 Views

Tariff and non-tariff discriminations have emerged as major barriers to growth of exports in the agro-processing sector of the country.

Agro-processors made the observation at a roundtable meeting organised by Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association (BAPA) under the auspices of the SME Competitiveness Grant Scheme supported by the European Union (EU) at Dhanmondi in the city on Wednesday.

They urged the government to take steps to remove the tariff barriers and other related trade obstacles.

Treasurer of BAPA Iqtadul Hoque facilitated the roundtable meeting while its Adviser Professor Md Moslem Ali spoke about the need to address the problems for overall growth of the agro-SMEs in the country.

Khurshid Ahmad Farhad (Head of Exports) of Square Food and Beverage Limited (SFBL) made a presentation on the tariff and non-tariff barriers in the agro-processing sector. Members of BAPA, representatives from Tariff Commission, National Board of Revenue, Export Promotion Bureau, Department of Food, Ministry of Agriculture, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and SME Foundation attended the roundtable.

In his presentation Khurshid Ahmad Farhad mentioned that Bangladesh faces tariff barriers to exporting its agro-processed products to even neighbouring SAARC countries. He said despite the fact that a zero-tariff agreement between Bangladesh and Bhutan was still in force, Bhutan imposed 50 per cent duty on its import of juice, drinks and crackers from Bangladesh whereas it is nil for India. Also, its local tax is 30 per cent for the same items which is only 10 per cent for India.

Bangladesh is not getting SAPTA facility in case of its export of agro-processed items to that country and its duty on import of Bangladeshi food products is 30 per cent. Nepal included Bangladeshi food products in its sensitive list which restricts duty free entry of products from Bangladesh, he said. The presentation also highlighted tariff and non-tariff problems agro-processors face in their exports to Sri Lanka and India.

Representatives from the concerned ministries said that they would place the problems, upon receipt of these in a categorized way from BAPA, to the authorities so that the problems are addressed in the greater interest of the country.

BAPA is now implementing two projects with the support of EU under the contracting authority of the Ministry of Industries. The project under which the roundtable was organized is titled "Strengthening the capacity of BAPA to enhance competitiveness of its member SMEs involved in Agro-processing". The overall objective of the action is "To achieve sustainable business growth, increase sales and employment for Agro SMEs in Bangladesh through strengthening BAPA".

The other project is titled "The road to sustainable Agro SME development in target clusters of Bangladesh through enhancing 'Entrepreneurial Ability' and 'Technical Skills'.

Source: hawker.com.bd