Country’s export earnings to rise by $70bn in FY24: Minister

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Monday said the country's export earnings most hopefully will be increased to $70 billion in the next year.

The commerce minister said this while responding to a star-marked question tabled by treasury bench lawmaker Morshed Alam of Noakhali-2 during the question-answer session of the Jatiya Sangsad.

He said, "Country's export earnings would be increased up to an estimated of US$ 70 billion in 2023-24 fiscal year as the government has taken various initiatives in the last 14 years".

With Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, the commerce minister said the government has formulated a series of import policies aiming to strengthen the position of the country for bringing mobility in the export trade under competitive global trade.

To promote the export trade, Tipu Munshi said the government has encouraged the establishment of labour intensive industries. Even the national export trophy 2018-19 has been provided to encourage the exporters.

The government has given importance to the service sector including information and communication technology, consultation service, construction and tourism for expansion of the export sector.

The export trade between Bangladesh and India also has increased significantly due to the SAFTA agreement signed among the SAARC countries.

The government has developed the export development fund (EDF) to US$7billion aiming to facilitate procurement of raw materials for the exporters.