The government has set an export target of $63.4 billion for the 2026-27 fiscal year, aiming for 15 percent growth in both goods and services exports, Commerce Minister Khondakar Abdul Muktadir announced on Sunday.
“Of the total target, goods are expected to fetch $55.2 billion while services are targeted to bring in $8.2 billion, with both segments carrying the same 15 percent growth ambition,” the minister said, while addressing a press briefing at the conference room of the commerce ministry.
Muktadir said Bangladesh's export sector has a real chance of a turnaround despite global economic uncertainty, ongoing geopolitical tensions and challenges in international markets, crediting a business-friendly environment, simplified investment procedures and streamlined government services for the renewed momentum.
He said free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are in their final stages, with the government also aiming to conclude FTAs with several other countries within the current year. “Formal talks on an FTA with the European Union are expected to begin soon.”
Stressing the need for export diversification, the minister noted that ready-made garments currently account for nearly 85 percent of the country's total exports.
To reduce this dependence, he said the government is giving special priority to leather and leather goods, footwear, shipbuilding, ship recycling, light engineering and information technology, with specific action plans for these sectors to be rolled out soon.
On US tariff policy, Muktadir said there has been no substantive change in the effective tariff structure applicable to Bangladesh, with the earlier 10 percent tariff continuing under the new legal framework.
As such, he said, no fresh negative impact on the country's exports is anticipated.
Referring to the energy crisis, the minister said gas supply constraints continue to prevent industries from fully utilising their production capacity, adding that the government is working to improve the situation by installing additional Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) for LNG.
He expressed confidence that the export target for the coming fiscal year is achievable, citing the elected government's policy stability, business-friendly reforms, new free trade agreements and growing buyer confidence in Bangladesh in international markets.
“A new window of opportunity has opened up for Bangladesh,” the minister said, adding that a combined push on ease of doing business, market access and export diversification is aimed at ushering in a new phase of growth for the country's export sector.
Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Vice Chairman Mohammad Hasan Arif were present at the briefing.