Bhutan, who has huge demands for readymade garments and ceramic products, could be next major export market for Bangladesh, said the head of a visiting Bhutanese business delegation yesterday.
“We are already importing a good number of ceramic products from Bangladesh and the demand is rising,” said Gyem Tshering.
Gyem, who is leading a 12-member delegation, was talking to the Dhaka Tribune after a meeting yesterday with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the apex trade body here.
They came to Bangladesh yesterday morning as part of Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s entourage.
The other most demanded export items from Bangladesh are construction machinery, Gyem said.
He urged the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to invest in Bhutan’s tourism industry because it is growing fast. They hoped that their PM’s Dhaka visit would enhance trade and cooperation between the neighbors.
FBBCI leaders said although the friendly relation between Bhutan and Bangladesh goes a long way back, bilateral trade has not been satisfactory.
Over the last 15 years, exports from Bangladesh to Bhutan fluctuated in the $9.13m-$0.02m range, but import from Bhutan increased significantly from $8.60m in 2005 to to $24.7m in 2013.
In 2014, Bangladesh exported only $1.9m to Bhutan while it was $22.5m the other way round.
Bangladesh heavily imports fruits such as orange and apple construction materials such as stone chips and dolomite from Bhutan.
To reduce the trade gap, Monowara Hakim Ali, acting president of FBCCI, said Bangladesh can offer high quality products to Bhutan including RMG, knitwear, dry fish and spices, softwares, construction and light engineering materials.
She also said time had come to renew the existing bilateral trade agreements between Bangladesh and Bhutan that was signed on May 29, 2012.
Monowara said business people from both countries may also work together for developing the tourism sectors of the two countries.
“Bhutan has a georgraphical advantage in using the congestion-free facilities at Mongla port. Compared to any other country, Bhutan is closer to Mongla,” she said.
