ED: Steadying the ship

The Covid-19 pandemic has, on top of wreaking havoc on the lives of people in every corner of the planet, also devastated economies. Bangladesh has been no different, and the early months of the lockdown period during the pandemic saw a devastating fall in exports, with global buyers canceling or delaying orders.

To that end, as Western nations slowly but surely start opening up, there has been a subsequent increase in exports, and the economy looks to be moving in the right direction once again, which is extremely encouraging to witness.

However, there is little reason to celebrate just yet; despite exports steadily climbing since the month of May -- there is every reason to believe that this upward trend could halt at any moment, especially given the volatile condition of our own country with regards to stopping the spread of the virus.

Experts have rightfully pointed out that in order to sustain the economic turnaround and ensure that exports continue to increase, it is absolutely vital that Bangladesh fare much better in combating the spread of the coronavirus, in order to ensure buyers that Bangladesh remains a safe, viable destination for doing business with.

Bangladesh has also, for far too long, relied on a singular export sector -- RMG products -- and the effects of this failure to diversify our export basket was sharply felt when orders were being cancelled and we had no other sector to rely on to compensate for the losses the RMG sector was suffering.

Additionally, the pandemic has also sharply brought to light business practices and policies that are outdated and inefficient -- Bangladesh has long suffered due to its policies being unfavourable towards businesses, as its ease of doing business rankings show every year.

Make no mistake about it, Covid-19 is far from over, especially here in Bangladesh. If we are to keep our lofty ambitions, we must control the spread of the virus, while simultaneously investing in diversifying our export basket by exploring new opportunities and sectors and enacting favourable business policies to create a better environment for buyers and investors.