The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on the potential of investing in the production and export of medical personal protective equipment (MPPE), analysts said at a webinar yesterday.

"The medical PPE industry is very close to our strength since the garments, plastic, and pharmaceutical industries can easily make adjustments to produce MPPE," said Abul Kasem Khan, chairperson of the Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD).

"So, it is wise for us to pick a sector like this to diversify our export basket."

Khan made these comments at the webinar on "Exploring growth opportunities: production and export of MPPE", organised by BUILD.

Export diversification is a major challenge for Bangladesh as the country seeks to reduce its heavy dependence on garments, Khan said. The best strategy for Bangladesh now will be working on the country's strengths, he said.

He mentioned five key areas to focus on for developing the sector: ensuring the right products, proper incentives, appropriate policies, knowledge and skills and proper use of technology and logistics.

The Covid-19 presented not only serious challenges, but also certain opportunities, and the MPPE industry is one such opportunity, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said.

He believes MPPE will contribute to the journey to produce more value-added and diversified products.

"We have also seen that Bangladesh has a lot of opportunities in this industry for local producers and exporters," said Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh.

Bangladesh needs to develop the MPPE industry in a strategic manner by setting up targets, extending the right incentives, ensuring public-private cooperation and following up closely on the progress and constraints, Ghosh added.

Md Mahbubur Rahman, director general of the Directorate General of Drug Administration, said local drug makers are doing very well abroad as they are enjoying steady growth in the global market.

The local pharmaceutical industry meets 98 per cent of the domestic demand for medicine and exports drugs to 57 other countries, but it imports more than 95 per cent of its required medical devices, he said.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, emphasised on the need to attract foreign direct investment to the MPPE industry as it is a potential area for export diversification.

Nuzhat Anwar, acting country manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said businesses need to find innovative and sustainable ways to boost their production and export revenue to recover from the Covid-19 fallout.

The IFC is providing the necessary support to bridge knowledge gaps in the MPPE industry in order to enhance private sector growth and facilitate the country's economic recovery, she said.

Shamim Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, mentioned that the plastic industry has been playing a key role in supplying essential equipment amid the pandemic.

In a keynote presentation on the market assessment for MPPEs, Shubham Gupta, a partner at Deloitte, highlighted that the private sector should lead the line in building capabilities and market development by concentrating on the knowledge management of technical and testing issues, market intelligence, and global outreach to collaborate with leading brands.

Deloitte identified 12 MPPE products that bear high-potential for development.

In another keynote presentation on the policy and regulatory environment, Ferdaus Ara Begum, chief executive officer of BUILD, said Bangladesh is already making progress in the MPPE sector.

This is especially true in the case of 12 products, of which eight are included in the World Health Organisation's list of MPPE.

MPPEs are highly regulated with stringent quality requirements and require strong technical know-how to produce, she said. "And this has emerged as a key challenge."