It is extremely encouraging to learn of the recently announced expo in Amsterdam, Netherlands this year which is set to showcase over 40 Bangladeshi companies across a multitude of sectors, including apparel, textile, leather, agro, jute, handicrafts, pharma, light engineering, etc.
Such an expo not only showcases Bangladeshi export sectors on a global platform, but one can hope that it kickstarts what has long been a pressing need for our country - that of diversifying our export basket.
Much ink has been spilled raising concerns of the RMG sector accounting for over 80% of our total exports year after year, and while the industry looks to continue to be our most important export sector, we must, in order to avoid potential shocks in the future, veer away from such blatant dependency.
It is never healthy for any nation, let alone one with the economic ambitions of Bangladesh, to place all its faith on a single sector; we noticed first hand during the heights of the Covid-19 pandemic how adversely this can affect us, and we should do everything we can to correct this.
As such, more pro-active initiatives and policies undertaken by the authorities concerned are imperative. Expos such as the one in the Netherlands are positive developments but ultimately, it is only with a concrete plan and the will to implement those plans will there be actual change be brought to our exports.
Bangladesh has made its intentions clear with its Smart Bangladesh vision and it is time for us to get smarter with our exports.
