Exports to Japan set to cross $1b
Exports to Japan set to cross $1b
Exports to Japan will cross $1 billion soon on the back of relaxed rules of origin (RoO) by the Asian nation, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said yesterday.
Riding on the back of the generalised system of preferences, exports from Bangladesh to Japan accelerated 14.9 percent year-on-year to $862.08 million in fiscal 2013-14, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.
Exports of garment, leather and footwear items account for most of the increased earnings from Japan.
Bangladesh shipped apparel items worth $572.27 million to Japan in fiscal 2013-14, up 19.6 percent year-on-year.
Relaxation of RoO has mainly been credited for the rise in garment exports to Japan, which as recently as fiscal 2008-09 stood at a meagre $74.37 million.
The Japanese government's “China Plus One” policy, adopted in 2008 to reduce overdependence on China, also accounts for the seven-fold increase in five years.
Japan's apparel market is worth around $35 billion, with Chinese exporters holding an 80 percent share of the market.
Bangladesh will allocate a separate special economic zone to Japanese investors as proposals from Japan are on the rise, Ahmed said, adding that the government is developing eight SEZs in the country.
“So, we will not rely too much on the west,” he said, adding that free trade agreements with Malaysia will also be signed.
Ahmed once again reiterated that Bangladesh pays 15.61 percent duty on export of garment products to the US, following a recent assertion by US Ambassador Dan W Mozena that the country does not pay any duty on exports of garment items to the American market.
The commerce minister strongly opposed this. "I am still saying it is false information.”
“Bangladesh tried several times for duty exemption on exports of garment items to the US, but they did not do it.”
Ahmed's comments came at a symposium styled 'Look East: Asia's economic integration and Bangladesh perspective' at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
Japan External Trade Organisation in collaboration with the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Policy Research Institute and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry organised the symposium.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh will be a developed country by the end of 2041.