Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that the government has considered medical and personal protective equipment (MPPEs) as an export product for Bangladesh with high potential.
“The global demand for MPPPEs has risen in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the future, even if the effect of Covid decreases, there will be enough demand for these items in the global market,” he also said.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled “Exploring Growth Opportunities: Production and Export of Medical and Personal Protective Equipment” organized by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) Monday.
BUILD hosted the webinar in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and US-based organization Deloitte.
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh attended the webinar as a special guest.
The commerce minister also said that the government was committed to providing all-out support to promote the local MPPE industry as an important sector for attaining export diversification and deeper industrialization.
He further said that not only developed countries like the United States and China, but also developing countries like Malaysia and Vietnam were doing well in producing and exporting MPPEs.
Bangladesh also needs to enter those potential markets by making quality products, he added.
Commerce Secretary Ghosh said that Bangladesh needed to develop its MPPE industry in a strategic manner, setting targets, extending the right incentives, ensuring public-private cooperation, and following up closely on the progress and constraints.
Acting Country Manager of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Nuzhat Anwar said that businesses needed to find innovative and sustainable ways to boost their production and export revenue to recover from the impacts of Covid-19.
Among others, Directorate General of Drug Administration major general Md Mahabubur Rahman, Vice-Chairman of Export Development Bureau AHM Ahsan, chairman of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Asif Ibrahim, President of Bangladesh Plastic Products Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) Shamim Ahmed, Associate Professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering Dr. Mahidus Samad Khan were also present at the webinar.