Bangladesh needs to formulate long-term plans on how to enhance its export basket after graduating from the UN's group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), experts say at a webinar held yesterday.

The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has recommended the government extend the duty-free raw material import facility to the firms that sell a portion of their goods in overseas markets with a view to diversifying exports.

It may surprise many that a lot of empty containers are lying idle at the private inland container depots (ICDs) in Bangladesh when the ICDs are choked with export cargoes for failing to ship them on time due to an acute shortage of empty boxes.

Export earnings rebounded strongly in the just-concluded fiscal year, fetching $38.75 billion, buoyed by a revival in the shipment of garment items, official figures showed yesterday.

Despite the lengthy coronavirus pandemic, 13,613 new companies were registered in Bangladesh in the just-included fiscal year, highlighting the confidence of businesses in the economy.

Pharmaceutical shipments from Bangladesh grew 25 per cent year-on-year to $169 million in the last fiscal thanks to the addition of anti-coronavirus drugs to the export basket, continuous improvement of quality and policy support.

The demand for premium quality tiles has grown by around 10 per cent annually for the past decade thanks to a section of affluent customers who look for the finest products to decorate their homes and offices.

The worsening Covid-19 situation has generated apprehensions among cattle farmers of Sirajganj and Pabna, two of the biggest cattle rearing hubs of the country.

Mobile phone operators are seeking permission from the government to sell network-locked or fixed-SIM handsets at lower prices so that more people can afford smartphones and use 4G service.

When the Maksud Bedding Store in Dhaka's Nilkhet area is open, Monir, an employee of the retail outlet, could make about Tk 400 for each day's work.

With over 50 per cent of mangoes yet to be harvested, the nationwide lockdown beginning yesterday has upended the normal marketing system, upsetting the already disappointed farmers of Rajshahi region.

Microsoft, the introducer of the most widely used operating system Windows, yesterday got value added tax (VAT) registration from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), a development that would enable the revenue authority to get the tech company under its monitoring.

The price of mild steel (MS) rods has increased by Tk 1,500 per tonne in Bangladesh in the past month because of the rising cost of raw materials globally, making building houses and implementing infrastructure projects costlier.

Researchers in Britain and the United States have found ways to recycle electric vehicle batteries that can drastically cut costs and carbon emissions, shoring up sustainable supplies for an expected surge in demand. 

Britain is working with countries across the European Union to encourage them to accept its fully vaccinated travellers, its business minister said on Thursday, as momentum builds for a fuller reopening of travel from the United Kingdom.

Claims that Chinese solar firms are benefiting from forced labour in Xinjiang are unfounded and unfairly stigmatise firms with operations there, the country’s solar association said.

Many garment workers faced trouble yesterday as they walked to their workplaces in absence of public transport and for not having any transport arranged by the factories on the first day of a week-long strict countrywide lockdown.

Nissan Motor Co bet on Britain to supercharge its European electric future on Thursday, pledging $1.4 billion with its Chinese partner to build a giant battery plant that will power 100,000 vehicles a year including a new crossover model.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, while layoffs plunged to a 21-year low in June as companies held on to their workers amid labor shortages. 

The government, for the first time, is going to honour 23 small, medium and large companies with the "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial Award" for their contribution to industrialisation, job creation, product diversification and innovation.