Biz Letters

Potentials of the shrimp industry
Among all the foreign exchange earners, the shrimp and fishery exports are the second largest in Bangladesh. The US and EU are two major marketplaces for this sector, but the sector is facing some international business hurdles; these are child labour and the impoverished food preservation system.
'Bangladesh shrimp plants fully compliant' this issue shows that Bangladehsi high officials are willing to follow the rules of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A Bangladeshi team has already proceeded to work on the issue.
Bangladesh has covered only a few areas in the world and there are more potential zones for these perishable items. A failure to position our products at the proper place and time will make us loose our market share and that will cut down our foreign exchange earnings. Prudent decisions are beneficial for this export business, and will help this business to flourish.
To retain the goodwill of this popular food item, we must strictly maintain the approved standards. Standardised processing with security marks will attract sentiments of the end users to purchase Bangladeshi shrimps. To maintain the desired standards, we need advanced technologies and skilled manpower, which will reduce the problems of unemployment and help us meet the standards. It is binding on our part to comply with the Consumer Rights Act for our own business purposes.
People all over the world love the taste of shrimps. Present global markets abridge the distance between people and their culture and it is also true that globalisation creates a wide range of business markets.
Bangladesh earned $449 million in the first ten months of the outgoing fiscal year from frozen food exports despite external and domestic odds. Now the association is trying to boost export to the EU market, which consumers 48 to 50 percent of Bangladesh's total export of frozen foods. Shrimp industries are also attempting to reduce the unemployment problem in our country. They employ more then 7.5 lakh people. Around 1.4 lakh farmers using 2.5 lakh hectors of land in the south-eastern and south-western coastal areas of Cox's Bazaar, Bagerhat, Khulna and Satkhira, now produce more than 50,000 tonnes of shrimps annually, mostly by using traditional methods. This perishable food product is encouraging entrepreneurs to invest more and other related businesses are also flourishing.
The recent scenario of the shrimp industry has dramatically improved over the last two years. We have emphasised on recruiting skilled labour and not employed children in the processing plants. The country needs to ensure a nature friendly recycling system in the adjacent area of industries, eradicate child labour, ensure consumer acts, eradicate international barriers to business.
If we can be prudent in our business activities, then we will be able to gain back the trust of the consumers throughout the world to make this sector flourish.
Debobrata Sharma, Dhaka

BOI: A dream unfulfilled
Board of Investment, the only investment promotion agency in Bangladesh, was established in 1989, after the commencement of the Investment Board Act, 1989. All the manpower of the abolished Department of Industries was placed under the newly created board. The aim of the establishment was to encourage investment in the private sector.
The Chairman of the Board is the Prime Minister or the Chief Adviser and in spite of having such a powerful body, the board, in its 19 years tenure, could not make any effective contribution to the industrial development of the country.
The board has problems, which hinders its natural flow of performance. Unless these are solved we cannot expect desired results from such an important organisation
In the absence of any set of rules the office of BOI, from the date of inception till present, is run by the personal whim of the chairman of the EC. For a country like Bangladesh, investment promotion is vital. But the fact that only 20 meetings were held in 19 years proves that the board failed to realise the importance of BOI in the economic development of Bangladesh.
EC is supposed to render necessary services related to investment promotion and office management. But in reality its functions are limited only to approving the registration proposals and recommending bonded warehouse licenses and remittance on royalties. Unfortunately, the board failed to give any guideline in this respect in the last 19 years. As a result the EC is more or less inactive and virtually ineffective.
Would it surprise you to know that within a span of 19 years BOI has failed to finalise its organogram! In 1992, the Ministry of Establishment approved an organogram consisting of 582 posts. Instead of giving a permanent shape to the existing organogram, a new organogram was approved in 2004, which included only 254 posts. But because of some practical reasons this organogram could not be implemented. As a result, the retention order, which includes 582 posts, still continues on a yearly basis. As per the condition of the retention order, no fresh recruitment to fill up the vacant posts is allowed. That is why, since its creation, BOI could not recruit any new officers.
As part of its investment promotional activities, BOI needs to supply all sorts of information relating to the establishment of an industry to the interested investors. But there are no specific guidelines from the government about the use of gas, electricity and coal in the industrial sector. Without having such information, all efforts to attract foreign investment are bound to be futile. So it will be unrealistic to blame BOI for the present trend of FDI inflow in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh needs an effective and efficient BOI. For this purpose functions of the EC should be well defined and they should be vested with ample administrative and financial power so that investment promotional activities do not suffer. An organogram should be finalised immediately and recruitment of the required number of qualified persons should be done without delay. A practicable strategic plan should be developed and implemented. A visionary plan may mar the success of all our efforts. Necessary amendments should be made to make Investment Board Act,1989 more effective. It will take quite a long time for BOI to make its own office building but the present office should be shifted immediately to a suitable and befitting place. The government should also have well defined policies regarding the use of gas, electricity and coal in the industrial sector.
Khandker Mohammad Ali, Dhaka

Corruption leads to an unbalanced economy
We become disheartened when we hear that Bangladesh stood 1st three times as a most corrupted country in the world. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reveals the story every year in the mass media. The conscious people of our country feel ashamed due to this. Our liberation war, the sacrifices of our martyrs, the immense loses of valuable assets, are all going to fade out. But we have rights to hold our heads high as a free and sovereign country in the world. This is the image we portray to the world and it may have negative consequences in the business community.
One and half years ago, the present caretaker government took massive drives against corruption. The big wigs of our country are now in jail. The anti corruption commission department is seriously active against any kinds of corruption. Besides, many politicians, businessmen, government officers are detained. The government has also restored billions of illegal money and deposited them into the government treasury.
Our government has initiated programmes to build awareness by demonstrating various types of slogans, leaflets, posters and a long drive road show. Public related ministries such as Acc, BTTB, LGED, BDR, Bangladesh Police, RAB, Bangladesh Army etc, took part in the road show. The young generation enjoyed the programmes with much enthusiasm and curiosity.
I hope that these awareness programmes have a positive impact upon school and college students. Corruption has sprung up in all spheres of life and it is impossible to root it out over night. But the next generation is our only hope for the future. We have to vehemently achieve a new bright, polluted free, corruption free country.
M Z Haider, Narsingdi

Kuwait doubles its wages
Hundreds of Bangladeshi workers were forced backed to the Zia International Airport from Kuwait. The workers were found beaten mercilessly and they were charged with unauthorised rioting, vandalising cars, ransacking offices, etc in Kuwait. Due to low wages, a recent rise in housing costs, reduced facilities, and other lack of commitments, thousands of workers staged demonstrations on the streets of Kuwait. It created a disruption and that lead the Kuwait government to realise the issues of the workers.
That is why the Gulf state has set up a minimum salary of $ 150.4 for cleaners and $263.2 for civilian security staff, which is double the previous salary status. Thanks to the government of Kuwait for acknowledging the worker's sufferings. Due to the demonstrations, the Kuwait government punished about one thousand workers and still many workers are being shoved back to Bangladesh every day.
The Gulf state ought to show more sympathy towards the ill paid workers. On the other hand, millions of workers are engaged in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. They are also ill paid. They cannot cope with the present cost of livelihood, so the government and other concerned authorities of our country should realise their minimum demands and not give them any scope to riot. The RMG sector is playing crucial role in our national economy.
M Z Haider, Narsingdi