With the Bangladesh economy in as precarious a position as it had been during the pandemic years, it is time for the authorities concerned to assess just how we are going to not only graduate from a least developed country (LDC) in 2026 but more importantly, beat the middle-income trap and become a developed nation in less than two decades to match our ambition.
To that end, while export diversification has long remained a topic of conversation, it cannot be stressed enough just how important it has become to the future health of our nation.
Despite paying lip service to the notion, we have simply failed to establish export-oriented industries that are able to offer some respite to our RMG industry, which continues to bring in over 80% of all export earnings to the nation.
This over-reliability has been highlighted by experts for years now, but our failure to build up other industries is a worrying sign that, be it at the policy level or just in terms of having a business climate conducive to innovation and growth, we are failing.
This failure to diversify our exports has long held us back from reaching our full potential as a nation. However, at a time when our economy is not in the best of health, and with our foreign reserves at an unprecedented low, diversification is no longer an option but a necessity.
If we are indeed serious about reaching our goals and ensuring that our economy remains on track, it is imperative that our policy-makers start taking export diversification seriously, and take the necessary, pro-active steps required to establish industries with export potential. The future of our nation depends on it.
