The New Nation - Internet Edition

Ariful Huq

Bangladesh has great prospects for developing into a middle income group of country. She has no alternative other than utilising the potentialities she has and making concerted efforts to achieve economic growth. She can achieve this goal by expanding its export basket based on balanced development of all sectors of the national economy. Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed the other day called upon the business community to boost up production of competitive items and their marketing internationally to achieve this lofty objective.

Balance of payment with most of the export trade partners internationally is in disfavour of the Bangladesh. With this huge trade deficit, she cannot keep pace with others. One of the most effective ways of coming out of this impasse is to expand the country's export trade. To boost up production and diversify export the government must adopt appropriate policies. A large population is a great advantage for Bangladesh over others. She must make proper use of this great force.

She must take a policy of mainly labour intensive production strategy through which she can solve unemployment as well as poverty problems. Introduction of automation and other sophisticated technologies is not basically suitable for the country at the present state of development.

Another important aspect of the policy should be to achieve self-sufficiency in production of food and other essential goods to meet basic needs of the people. An unfed and unclad nation cannot expand export basket infinitely.

Export performance awards will no doubt encourage the exporters. But what they need more are adequate bank credit on soft terms, lower rates of tariff on import of raw materials etc.

Local raw material used for producing exportable items should also be given similar tax treatment. More export processing zones should be established to boost up export.

But the most pivotal thing upon which successes of all these strategies depend is turning man into manpower. Be it development of agriculture and allied industries, handicrafts and value added goods, knowledge based sectors like outsourcing business and software export - all depend upon how successfully this development of manpower is achieved.

Expansion of export volume can only succeed if it is based on a balanced development and solid foundation of the national economy. A lopsided development of export oriented sectors to the neglect of others is not likely to bring sustainable results.