Policy & Trend and Pattern of Export and Import with Special Reference to Bangladesh Essay

Policy & Trend and Pattern of Export and Import with Special Reference to Bangladesh Submitted to Dr. Shah Md.

Ahsan Habib (International Business) Submitted by Sabina Yeasmin Romana Id:10364067 Introduction A fundamental change is occurring in the world economy. The process by which this is occurring is commonly referred to as globalization. We are moving away from national economy to world economy. Globalization & liberalization is the basis of international business.

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Globalization is the target & liberalization is the way to attain the target.Because of this process of globalization & liberalization there has been huge expansion of cross border transactions which is nothing but international business activities. A major portion of international business is played by Export and Import. International business is the performance of business activities across national boundaries. Every nation in the world participates in international business to some extent. Large companies as well as smaller firms sell their products throughout the world.

A firm that decides to enter international trade must select as approach.It can be done in a number of ways; some require relatively low level of commitment, while others require much higher levels. Approaches to international business include exporting, licensing, joint ventures, trading companies, countertrading, direct ownership and multinational corporations. Most common and popular approach to international trade is Export and Import. OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT •To discuss theoretical aspect of “Policy & Trend of export and import with special reference to Bangladesh” •To discuss Bangladesh aspect of “Policy &Trend of export and import with special reference to Bangladesh” THEOPICTHEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE TOPIC The term policies contains policies in the sphere of Foreign trade i.

e. with respect to import & export from the country and more especially export promotion measures, policies and procedure related there country. Export means selling abroad and import as bringing into a country, any goods and services. Trade policy governs exports from and imports into a country.It is one of the various policy instruments used by a country to attain her Goals of economic development.

This policy is thus, formulated keeping in view, the national priorities for economic development and the international commitments made by the country. It is essential that the entrepreneurs and the export managers understand the trade policy as it provides the vital inputs for the formulation of their business growth strategies. Government control import of non-essential items through an import policy. At the same time, all-out efforts are made to promote exports.Thus, there are two aspects of trade policy; the import policy which is concerned with regulation and management of imports and the export policy which is concerned with exports not only promotion but also regulation. The EXIM Policy is the Export-Import policies regulating international commerce in Bangladesh.

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an “exporter” who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an “importer”.In International Trade, “exports” refers to selling goods and services produced in the home country to other markets. Any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade.

Export goods or services are provided to foreign consumers by domestic producers. Export of commercial quantities of goods normally requires involvement of the customs authorities in both the country of export and the country of import. The great promise of exporting is that large revenue and profit opportunities are to be found in foreign markets for most firms in most industries.The international market is normally so much larger than the firm’s domestic market that exporting is nearly always a way to increase the revenue and profit base of a company. By expanding the size of the market, exporting can enable a firm to achieve economies of scale, thereby lowering its unit costs. Firms that do not export often lose out on significant opportunity for growth and cost reduction. Similarly Importing also plays an important role for a business and so for a country’s economy. Import allows us to acquire low cost resources which may not be possible in all domestic market.

Same time through importing a country can have products outside its production line. If a country cannot meet its domestic demand through domestic production then it can import from other countries. The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country.

The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an “importer” who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an “exporter”. Thus an import is any good (e. g. a commodity) or service brought in from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade.It is a good that is brought in from another country for sale. Import goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers.

An import in the receiving country is an export to the sending country. BANGLADSH ASPECTS OF THE TOPIC: Export and import is a vital part of the economy Bangladesh. Bangladeshi international trade is extremely small relative to the size of its population, although it experienced accelerated growth during the last decade. Tremendous increase in the export of ready-made-garments and knitwear, which earned maximum foreign exchange for the country .But it is not very diversified and depends on the fluctuations of the international market. The Bangladeshi government struggles to attract export-oriented industries, removing red tape and introducing various financial and tax initiatives.

The international framework for financial and economic transactions has significantly changed with the presence of various multi-lateral, regional and bi-lateral trade agreements. Bangladesh is an active member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Moreover, it has also been pursuing liberalization through many regional free-trade agreements ike SAFTA, BIMSTEC,APTA.

Bangladesh has also signed Preferential Trade Agreement with D-8 member countries. For export promotion and development Bangladesh has been pursuing Periodic Export Policy from 1980. In the first half of 80s Bangladesh pursued one- year export policies in the first half of 80s and two-year policies in the last half of the same decades. Since then five- year export policies were formulated and implemented. After the expiry of the tenure of five-year policy government announced three –year Export Policy 2003-2009.These policies are consistent with the agreement under Uruguay Round Accord, WTO and the principles of market economy.

These were also maintaining favorable balance between exports and imports of the country. The present export-import policy (2009-12 )and procedures in respect of various commodities/category of importers & exporters in the following publications issued by the Ministry of Commerce and revised from time to time. Bangladesh, a founder member of WTO, has been pursuing policies and institutional reforms towards a free market economy in line with the prevailing world trend.The objectives of the trade-led growth strategy of the Government include reducing the poverty level to a half by 2015 through generation of employment and income. The Export Policy primarily aims at making the economic activities dynamic and outward looking to help Bangladesh survive in the rapidly changing and competitive global trading system. This calls for increasing involvement of women in trade expansion activities by reducing discrimination between men and women, which will play a positive role in the economic development of the country through strengthening our economic foundation.The government is facilitating expansion of trade and taking necessary steps to modernize and simplify the countries trade policy in accordance with WTO obligations and upholding countries interest.

Trade bodies of Bangladesh There are many trade bodies in Bangladesh. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry is the apex representative organization safeguarding the interest of the private sector in trade and industry in Bangladesh. BGMEA is the officially recognized apex apparel export trade body of 4,490 apparel manufacturing units.It is the oldest and most representative trade organization of Bangladesh having in its membership roll most leading commercial and industrial organizations including almost all the public sector corporations and all multinational companies. Export policy-(2009-2012) The Export Policy 2009-12 has underscored the need for expanding export, increasing the productivity of export-oriented industries and facilitating the overall development of the export sector through capacity building of local export-oriented industries.

Five Business Promotion Councils are already in place under public-private partnership to enhance the capacity and awareness of the exporters and mitigate the supply constrains paving the way for enhanced uninterrupted supply of export products. The scope of these councils will be gradually expanded. Export statistics of the last few years reveal that export earnings have witnessed growths of 15. 69%, 15. 87% and 10. 23% during export years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively.The “Export Policy 2009-12” has been formulated on the basis of recommendations of a Consultative Committee comprising of representatives from the main industries/trade associations, chambers, research organizations, respective Ministries, Divisions and organizations so to ensure the sustainability of the export growth during the policy period. It is expected that this Export Policy will play the pioneering role in employment generation and poverty alleviation through burgeoning growth of our export.

Import Policy-(2009-2012) The main objectives of the Import Policy are – (a) to make the Import Policy Compatible with the changes in the world market that have occurred as a result of the introduction of market economy and signing of the GATT Agreement; (b) to simplify the procedures for import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials with a view to promoting export, and (c) to ensure growth of the indigenous industry and availability of high quality goods to the consumers at a reasonable price. 3.Achievement of the aforesaid objectives will depend on the help and cooperation of other relevant Ministries, Divisions of the Government and the Trade Organizations in the private Sector. Regulation of Import- Import of goods under this Order shall be regulated as follows: (a) Unless otherwise specified in this order, the items banned for import in the list (annexure-1) shall not be importable: Provided that, those items which are importable on fulfillment of certain conditions specified in the list shall be importable on fulfillment of those conditions. b) Except the items specified in the article 3(a), all other items are importable freely. (c) While determining the import status of an item mentioned in the ‘Control List’, if the description of goods does not conform to the H. S.

Code mentioned against the item or any discrepancy arises between the H. S. Code and the description of goods, in that case the description of goods shall prevail.Conditions for regulating import – If the import of an item was restricted before coming into effect of this Order or if such restriction has been made effective due to the inclusion of the item in the Control List annexed to this Order or for imposition of any other condition such restriction shall be subject to the following conditions : (a) In case any restriction is imposed on import of a particular commodity with a view to protecting the interest of a local industry the concerned sponsoring authority / Bangladesh Tariff Commission shall strictly monitor production of that industrial unit regularly; (b)The industrial units (Protected Industry) which are specially engaged in “assembling type” activities shall have to move towards progressive manufacture actively and expeditiously; (c) Except due to the rise of price of raw materials or the decline in the rate of exchange, if the increase in the price of an item increases or the price of finished product is disproportionately higher than the rise in the price of the raw materials in the international market, the ban on the import may be revoked on the recommendation of the concerned sponsoring authority or Bangladesh Tariff Commission; (d) Goods from Israel or goods produced in that country and also goods carried in the flag vessels of that country shall not be importable. e) However, if any one is aggrieved by any decision regarding ban or restriction on import of any item, he can refer his representation to the Bangladesh Tariff Commission. The Bangladesh Tariff Commission will duly examine such a representation and furnish its recommendation(s) to the Ministry of Commerce for consideration. General Conditions of Import of goods- For import purpose, use of H.

S. Code with at least eight digits corresponding to the classification of goods as given in the First Schedule of the Customs Act,1969 (Act No. IV of 1969) based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, shall be mandatory: Provided that, Bank shall not issue L. C.

Authorization form or open L/C without properly mentioning H. S. Code number for the item(s) correctly.Import procedure- Import shall be made as per the following procedure: Import License not required- Unless otherwise specified, no import license will be necessary for import of any item. Import against LCA Form- Unless otherwise specified, all import transactions through a Bank (L/Cs.

bank drafts, remittances etc. ) shall require LCA forms irrespective of the source of finance. Import through L/C- Unless otherwise directed import will be effected only through opening irrevocable L/C: Provided that L/C is not required for each consignment via Teknaf custom station of quickly perishable items worth ten thousand to fifteen thousand US dollar, via other custom station, five thousand to seven thousand US dollar, essential food items under the limit approved by the govt. ime to time and for import of capital machinery and raw materials for industrial use without any price limit; Provided further that conditions stated in sub Para (6) shall be applicable here and importers shall be required to register with authorized dealer Bank for importation without L/C. Import of Meat and Bone Meal of swine is banned. Trend of Export From the following statistics from Bangladesh Bank, we can see that how our export trend and has changed after the last two decades. Last ten to twelve years, our export is growing nicely.

In 2002-03 our export was only six thousand million US dollars, but in 2010 it reached about sixteen thousand million US dollars. Following graph makes it more vivid how Bangladesh developed in international trade through 1972-73 and 2009-10.Major Exports : Readymade garments, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramic, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical product, light engineering products including bi-cycle. Export Receipts of Bangladesh (including exports of EPZ) during the quarter January-March, 2012 stood at Tk. 451400 million or US$ 5455 million.

On the other hand Export Receipts for the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 were Tk. 424157 million or US$ 5497 million and Tk. 378701 million or US$ 5302 million respectively. Export Receipts for the quarter under review increased by Tk. 27243 million (or 6. 4%) or decreased by US$ 42 million (or – 0. 8%) [-ve change in US$ due to exchnge rate fluctuation. ] and increased by Tk.

72699 million (or 19. %) or US$ 153 million (or 2. 9%) over the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 respectively. Export receipts recorded by BB [Monthly] (In million US$) Items2010-11 July-May2011-12R July-Apr2011-12P July-May% Changes 4 over 2 12345 1. Raw jute & Jute goods862. 38739. 93822. 33-4.

64 2. Readymade garments12028. 5613060.

1514316. 6919. 02 3. Frozen food475.

42458. 75488. 812. 82 4. Leather257. 18253. 02282. 279.

76 5. Others2018. 231752. 751916.

92-5. 02 Total (excluding EPZ)315641. 7716264. 617827. 0213.

97 6. Export by EPZ enterprises2467. 972771. 653088. 8325. 16 Grand Total (including EPZ)18109. 7419036. 2520915.

8515. 5 Source: Bangladesh BankFrom the following data we can see that in almost every year from 2002 to 20010, there is little negative difference in between targeted export and actual export of product. Only in Fiscal Year 2003-06, there is positive difference between targeted and actual export. In financial year (2010-11) we have earned 2 thousand 292 cror and 43 lakh USD through export. current year’s (2011-12) export earning has been set to 2 thousand 636 cror 30 lakh and 40 thousand USD. This is 15% more than previous year’s earning. Export Receipts of Bangladesh (including exports of EPZ) during the quarter January-March, 2012 stood at Tk.

451400 million or US$ 5455 million.On the other hand Export Receipts for the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 were Tk. 424157 million or US$ 5497 million and Tk. 378701 million or US$ 5302 million respectively.

Success of year 2010-11 was lade by Neat garments, woven garments, home textile, footwear, raw jute, jute products, robber, lather, ship building and plastic products. But 17 Bangladeshi foreign mission could not achieve their targeted export revenue. This may be caused by world recession or lake of professionalism. In 2011-12 targeted export for 44 missions is set to 2 thousand 570 cror 29 lakh and 30 thousand USD. Outside this mission targeted export for some countries is set to 66 cror 1 lakh and 10 thousand USD. Trend of Import:In the financial year of 2010-11 import of four daily items are increased tremendously. These items are rice, wheat, sweet and edible oil.

According to the statistics of Bangladesh Bank, in the year of 2010-11 LC opened for importing rice was 107 cror 40 lakh USD which was 18 cror 60 lakh USD in the year of 2009-10. Data from the central bank also suggest that LC opened for sweet and eatable oil was 112 cror and 152 cror USD respectively . At 2009-10 this amount was about 78 cror 30 lakh and 105 cror and 80 lakh for sweet and eatable oil respectively. In this regard it must be said that opening of LC does not represent actual picture of import or export.

After opening LC how much product comes in with regard to that LC within a specific time is considered as actual import. But the ratio of opening LC gives us the tendency of importing of a country. Total import payments of Bangladesh (including EPZ) during the quarter January-March’ 2012 stood at Tk 757599 million (or US$ 9149.

8 million) as compared to Tk 695898 million (or US$ 9008. 4 million ) for the quarter October-December’ 2011. Summarized import payments statistics[Monthly] (In million US$) Items2010-11 July-May2011-12R July-Apr2011-12P July-May% Changes 4 over 2 12345 1. Food grains1741. 1717807.

5-53. 62 2. Edible oil947. 614561557. 464.

35 3.Petroleum products3777. 34159. 94580. 621.

27 4. Raw cotton and yarn3816. 32851. 23166. 5-17.

03 5. Textile and articles thereof2428. 92552. 2280515. 48 6.

Capital machinery2043. 21654. 31836. 5-10. 12 7. Others14022. 414739.

616265. 316 Sub Total28776. 828130.

231018. 87. 79 8. Import by EPZ enterprises11970. 41724.

21929. 1-2. 1 Grand Total ( c & f )30747. 229854. 432947. 97. 16 Source: Statistics Department, Bangladesh Bank Major Imports : Oil, edible oil, petroleum product, wheat, seeds, fertilizer, yarn, capital goods, machinery, power generating machinery, scientific & medical equipment, iron & steel, motor vehicles, raw cotton, chemicals.

Major trading Partners are USA, EU countries, China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Product wise import Trends From the following data we can see that Bangladesh is importing many goods from other countries. The major products they are importing are Food, Oil, garments raw materials, fertilizer, chemical etc. From the data it is clearly visible that, our import expenditure has been doubled in last ten years. (In million US Dollars) Major Commodities2000-012001-022002-032003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-092009-102010-11 1. FOOD GRAINS349 186 409 431 57441858114108828371911 i. Rice1721521114426211718087423975830 ii.Wheat1771711982873123014015366437611081 2.

Milk & cream6259616186738313796106161 3. Spices151332304232768062109127 4. Oil seeds647264738690106136159130103 5. Edible oil218251364471441473583100686510501067 6. Pulses all sorts8688145120159164195327234350292 7.

Sugar4623104110220124294396413650654 8. Clinker106150144139170210240347314333446 9. Crude petroleum273242267252350604524695584535923 10. POL5664816207701252140017092058199720213186 11. Chemical3393353534065105806688909609721254 12. Pharmaceutical products333944454150496280103116 13.

Fertilizer1291071091503323423576329557171241 14. Dyeing, tanning etc. materials918786109132148161218259275333 15.Plastics and rubber articles thereof2612502813674775236438088409661302 16. Raw cotton3603123935836667428581212129114392689 17. Yarn3222832703233935015826917927181391 18.

Textile and articles thereof12911063110612951571172818921892209919862680 19. Staple fiber39394157757697110112118180 20. Iron,steel and other base metals4644134554796809809851179150214532004 21. Capital machinery 4825625687861211153919291664142015952325 22.

Others30242858301529592727288734014385528958627132 Sub total :8650791389311001612195136841601320335212052232531517 Imports of EPZ685627727887952106211441294130214132141 Grand Total :9335854096581090313147147461715721629225072373833658At the end of financial year’s (2010-11) last 11 months (July – May) our trade deficit was 710 cror and 30 lakh USD. This deficit is more that 38% of its last financial year (2009-10), which was 515 cror and 20 lakh. As a result trade deficit of Bangladesh has crossed the mark of 700 cror USD for the first of history. This is due to excess importing. This creates pressure of trade balance.

Trade deficit in million dollars: (Source: The Daily Prothom Alo, August 17, 2011. Page no. 15) CONTROLING REMARKS: •There is a significant gap between export revenue and import expenditure in Bangladesh. This gap needs to reduce for the betterment of the country. In terms of export, there is lots of scope in different parts of the world; government should look for new countries where they can exports goods in large amount. •In last few years, there is negative gap between targeted export and actual export, which need to be adjusted by finding the reason behind the gap. •Encouraging jute goods and frozen food export, so that the country can earn more foreign currency from these goods.

•Buildup a strong policy enhances exports & reduce the trade deficit which expand our local industry. Reference: •http://www. bangladesh-bank. org/econdata/import/categoryimp.

php •http://www. epb. gov. bd/ •http://www. bangladesh-bank.

org/pub/index. php •www. of. gov. bd/en/budget/rw/external_sector. pdf •www. tdrju. net/index.

php/tdr/article/view/7/23 Policy & Trend and Pattern of Export and Import with Special Reference to Bangladesh Submitted to Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib (International Business) Submitted by Sabina Yeasmin Romana Id:10364067 Introduction A fundamental change is occurring in the world economy. The process by which this is occurring is commonly referred to as globalization. We are moving away from national economy to world economy.

Globalization & liberalization is the basis of international business. Globalization is the target & liberalization is the way to attain the target.Because of this process of globalization & liberalization there has been huge expansion of cross border transactions which is nothing but international business activities. A major portion of international business is played by Export and Import. International business is the performance of business activities across national boundaries. Every nation in the world participates in international business to some extent. Large companies as well as smaller firms sell their products throughout the world.

A firm that decides to enter international trade must select as approach. It can be done in a number of ways; some require relatively low level of commitment, while others require much higher levels.Approaches to international business include exporting, licensing, joint ventures, trading companies, countertrading, direct ownership and multinational corporations. Most common and popular approach to international trade is Export and Import.

OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT •To discuss theoretical aspect of “Policy & Trend of export and import with special reference to Bangladesh” •To discuss Bangladesh aspect of “ Policy &Trend of export and import with special reference to Bangladesh” THEOPICTHEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE TOPIC The term policies contains policies in the sphere of Foreign trade i. e. with respect to import & export from the country and more especially export promotion measures, policies and procedure related there country.Export means selling abroad and import as bringing into a country, any goods and services. Trade policy governs exports from and imports into a country.

It is one of the various policy instruments used by a country to attain her Goals of economic development. This policy is thus, formulated keeping in view, the national priorities for economic development and the international commitments made by the country. It is essential that the entrepreneurs and the export managers understand the trade policy as it provides the vital inputs for the formulation of their business growth strategies. Government control import of non-essential items through an import policy. At the same time, all-out efforts are made to promote exports.

Thus, there are two aspects of trade policy; the import policy which is concerned with regulation and management of imports and the export policy which is concerned with exports not only promotion but also regulation. The EXIM Policy is the Export-Import policies regulating international commerce in Bangladesh. The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an “exporter” who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an “importer”. In International Trade, “exports” refers to selling goods and services produced in the home country to other markets.Any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade.

Export goods or services are provided to foreign consumers by domestic producers. Export of commercial quantities of goods normally requires involvement of the customs authorities in both the country of export and the country of import. The great promise of exporting is that large revenue and profit opportunities are to be found in foreign markets for most firms in most industries. The international market is normally so much larger than the firm’s domestic market that exporting is nearly always a way to increase the revenue and profit base of a company.By expanding the size of the market, exporting can enable a firm to achieve economies of scale, thereby lowering its unit costs. Firms that do not export often lose out on significant opportunity for growth and cost reduction. Similarly Importing also plays an important role for a business and so for a country’s economy.

Import allows us to acquire low cost resources which may not be possible in all domestic market. Same time through importing a country can have products outside its production line. If a country cannot meet its domestic demand through domestic production then it can import from other countries. The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country.

The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an “importer” who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an “exporter”. Thus an import is any good (e. g.

a commodity) or service brought in from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. It is a good that is brought in from another country for sale. Import goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers.

An import in the receiving country is an export to the sending country. BANGLADSH ASPECTS OF THE TOPIC: Export and import is a vital part of the economy Bangladesh. Bangladeshi international trade is extremely small relative to the size of its population, although it experienced accelerated growth during the last decade.Tremendous increase in the export of ready-made-garments and knitwear, which earned maximum foreign exchange for the country . But it is not very diversified and depends on the fluctuations of the international market.

The Bangladeshi government struggles to attract export-oriented industries, removing red tape and introducing various financial and tax initiatives. The international framework for financial and economic transactions has significantly changed with the presence of various multi-lateral, regional and bi-lateral trade agreements. Bangladesh is an active member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Moreover, it has also been pursuing liberalization through many regional free-trade agreements like SAFTA, BIMSTEC,APTA.

Bangladesh has also signed Preferential Trade Agreement with D-8 member countries. For export promotion and development Bangladesh has been pursuing Periodic Export Policy from 1980. In the first half of 80s Bangladesh pursued one- year export policies in the first half of 80s and two-year policies in the last half of the same decades. Since then five- year export policies were formulated and implemented. After the expiry of the tenure of five-year policy government announced three –year Export Policy 2003-2009. These policies are consistent with the agreement under Uruguay Round Accord, WTO and the principles of market economy. These were also maintaining favorable balance between exports and imports of the country.

The present export-import policy (2009-12 )and procedures in respect of various commodities/category of importers & exporters in the following publications issued by the Ministry of Commerce and revised from time to time. Bangladesh, a founder member of WTO, has been pursuing policies and institutional reforms towards a free market economy in line with the prevailing world trend. The objectives of the trade-led growth strategy of the Government include reducing the poverty level to a half by 2015 through generation of employment and income. The Export Policy primarily aims at making the economic activities dynamic and outward looking to help Bangladesh survive in the rapidly changing and competitive global trading system.This calls for increasing involvement of women in trade expansion activities by reducing discrimination between men and women, which will play a positive role in the economic development of the country through strengthening our economic foundation. The government is facilitating expansion of trade and taking necessary steps to modernize and simplify the countries trade policy in accordance with WTO obligations and upholding countries interest.

Trade bodies of Bangladesh There are many trade bodies in Bangladesh. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry is the apex representative organization safeguarding the interest of the private sector in trade and industry in Bangladesh. BGMEA is the officially recognized apex apparel export trade body of 4,490 apparel manufacturing units.

It is the oldest and most representative trade organization of Bangladesh having in its membership roll most leading commercial and industrial organizations including almost all the public sector corporations and all multinational companies. Export policy-(2009-2012) The Export Policy 2009-12 has underscored the need for expanding export, increasing the productivity of export-oriented industries and facilitating the overall development of the export sector through capacity building of local export-oriented industries. Five Business Promotion Councils are already in place under public-private partnership to enhance the capacity and awareness of the exporters and mitigate the supply constrains paving the way for enhanced uninterrupted supply of export products. The scope of these councils will be gradually expanded.Export statistics of the last few years reveal that export earnings have witnessed growths of 15. 69%, 15. 87% and 10. 23% during export years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively.

The “Export Policy 2009-12” has been formulated on the basis of recommendations of a Consultative Committee comprising of representatives from the main industries/trade associations, chambers, research organizations, respective Ministries, Divisions and organizations so to ensure the sustainability of the export growth during the policy period. It is expected that this Export Policy will play the pioneering role in employment generation and poverty alleviation through burgeoning growth of our export.Import Policy-(2009-2012) The main objectives of the Import Policy are – (a) to make the Import Policy Compatible with the changes in the world market that have occurred as a result of the introduction of market economy and signing of the GATT Agreement; (b) to simplify the procedures for import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials with a view to promoting export, and (c) to ensure growth of the indigenous industry and availability of high quality goods to the consumers at a reasonable price. 3.

Achievement of the aforesaid objectives will depend on the help and cooperation of other relevant Ministries, Divisions of the Government and the Trade Organizations in the private Sector.Regulation of Import- Import of goods under this Order shall be regulated as follows: (a) Unless otherwise specified in this order, the items banned for import in the list (annexure-1) shall not be importable: Provided that, those items which are importable on fulfillment of certain conditions specified in the list shall be importable on fulfillment of those conditions. (b) Except the items specified in the article 3(a), all other items are importable freely. (c) While determining the import status of an item mentioned in the ‘Control List’, if the description of goods does not conform to the H. S. Code mentioned against the item or any discrepancy arises between the H. S. Code and the description of goods, in that case the description of goods shall prevail.

Conditions for regulating import – If the import of an item was restricted before coming into effect of this Order or if such restriction has been made effective due to the inclusion of the item in the Control List annexed to this Order or for imposition of any other condition such restriction shall be subject to the following conditions : (a) In case any restriction is imposed on import of a particular commodity with a view to protecting the interest of a local industry the concerned sponsoring authority / Bangladesh Tariff Commission shall strictly monitor production of that industrial unit regularly; (b)The industrial units (Protected Industry) which are specially engaged in “assembling type” activities shall have to move towards progressive manufacture actively and expeditiously; (c) Except due to the rise of price of raw materials or the decline in the rate of exchange, if the increase in the price of an item increases or the price of finished product is disproportionately higher than the rise in the price of the raw materials in the international market, the ban on the import may be revoked on the recommendation of the concerned sponsoring authority or Bangladesh Tariff Commission; (d) Goods from Israel or goods produced in that country and also goods carried in the flag vessels of that country shall not be importable. e) However, if any one is aggrieved by any decision regarding ban or restriction on import of any item, he can refer his representation to the Bangladesh Tariff Commission. The Bangladesh Tariff Commission will duly examine such a representation and furnish its recommendation(s) to the Ministry of Commerce for consideration. General Conditions of Import of goods- For import purpose, use of H. S. Code with at least eight digits corresponding to the classification of goods as given in the First Schedule of the Customs Act,1969 (Act No. IV of 1969) based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, shall be mandatory: Provided that, Bank shall not issue L.

C. Authorization form or open L/C without properly mentioning H. S. Code number for the item(s) correctly.Import procedure- Import shall be made as per the following procedure: Import License not required- Unless otherwise specified, no import license will be necessary for import of any item. Import against LCA Form- Unless otherwise specified, all import transactions through a Bank (L/Cs. bank drafts, remittances etc.

) shall require LCA forms irrespective of the source of finance. Import through L/C- Unless otherwise directed import will be effected only through opening irrevocable L/C: Provided that L/C is not required for each consignment via Teknaf custom station of quickly perishable items worth ten thousand to fifteen thousand US dollar, via other custom station, five thousand to seven thousand US dollar, essential food items under the limit approved by the govt. ime to time and for import of capital machinery and raw materials for industrial use without any price limit; Provided further that conditions stated in sub Para (6) shall be applicable here and importers shall be required to register with authorized dealer Bank for importation without L/C. Import of Meat and Bone Meal of swine is banned. Trend of Export From the following statistics from Bangladesh Bank, we can see that how our export trend and has changed after the last two decades. Last ten to twelve years, our export is growing nicely.

In 2002-03 our export was only six thousand million US dollars, but in 2010 it reached about sixteen thousand million US dollars. Following graph makes it more vivid how Bangladesh developed in international trade through 1972-73 and 2009-10.Major Exports : Readymade garments, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramic, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical product, light engineering products including bi-cycle. Export Receipts of Bangladesh (including exports of EPZ) during the quarter January-March, 2012 stood at Tk.

451400 million or US$ 5455 million. On the other hand Export Receipts for the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 were Tk. 424157 million or US$ 5497 million and Tk. 378701 million or US$ 5302 million respectively. Export Receipts for the quarter under review increased by Tk.

27243 million (or 6. 4%) or decreased by US$ 42 million (or – 0. 8%) [-ve change in US$ due to exchnge rate fluctuation. ] and increased by Tk. 72699 million (or 19.

%) or US$ 153 million (or 2. 9%) over the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 respectively. Export receipts recorded by BB [Monthly] (In million US$) Items2010-11 July-May2011-12R July-Apr2011-12P July-May% Changes 4 over 2 12345 1. Raw jute & Jute goods862. 38739. 93822.

33-4. 64 2. Readymade garments12028. 5613060. 1514316.

6919. 02 3. Frozen food475. 42458.

75488. 812. 82 4. Leather257.

18253. 02282. 279.

76 5. Others2018. 231752. 751916. 92-5.

02 Total (excluding EPZ)315641. 7716264. 617827.

0213. 97 6. Export by EPZ enterprises2467. 972771. 653088. 8325.

16 Grand Total (including EPZ)18109. 7419036. 2520915. 8515.

5 Source: Bangladesh BankFrom the following data we can see that in almost every year from 2002 to 20010, there is little negative difference in between targeted export and actual export of product. Only in Fiscal Year 2003-06, there is positive difference between targeted and actual export. In financial year (2010-11) we have earned 2 thousand 292 cror and 43 lakh USD through export. current year’s (2011-12) export earning has been set to 2 thousand 636 cror 30 lakh and 40 thousand USD.

This is 15% more than previous year’s earning. Export Receipts of Bangladesh (including exports of EPZ) during the quarter January-March, 2012 stood at Tk. 451400 million or US$ 5455 million.On the other hand Export Receipts for the quarters October-December, 2011 and January-March, 2011 were Tk. 424157 million or US$ 5497 million and Tk. 378701 million or US$ 5302 million respectively. Success of year 2010-11 was lade by Neat garments, woven garments, home textile, footwear, raw jute, jute products, robber, lather, ship building and plastic products. But 17 Bangladeshi foreign mission could not achieve their targeted export revenue.

This may be caused by world recession or lake of professionalism. In 2011-12 targeted export for 44 missions is set to 2 thousand 570 cror 29 lakh and 30 thousand USD. Outside this mission targeted export for some countries is set to 66 cror 1 lakh and 10 thousand USD. Trend of Import:In the financial year of 2010-11 import of four daily items are increased tremendously. These items are rice, wheat, sweet and edible oil. According to the statistics of Bangladesh Bank, in the year of 2010-11 LC opened for importing rice was 107 cror 40 lakh USD which was 18 cror 60 lakh USD in the year of 2009-10.

Data from the central bank also suggest that LC opened for sweet and eatable oil was 112 cror and 152 cror USD respectively . At 2009-10 this amount was about 78 cror 30 lakh and 105 cror and 80 lakh for sweet and eatable oil respectively. In this regard it must be said that opening of LC does not represent actual picture of import or export.After opening LC how much product comes in with regard to that LC within a specific time is considered as actual import.

But the ratio of opening LC gives us the tendency of importing of a country. Total import payments of Bangladesh (including EPZ) during the quarter January-March’ 2012 stood at Tk 757599 million (or US$ 9149. 8 million) as compared to Tk 695898 million (or US$ 9008. 4 million ) for the quarter October-December’ 2011. Summarized import payments statistics[Monthly] (In million US$) Items2010-11 July-May2011-12R July-Apr2011-12P July-May% Changes 4 over 2 12345 1. Food grains1741.

1717807. 5-53. 62 2. Edible oil947. 614561557. 464. 35 3.

Petroleum products3777. 34159. 94580. 621. 27 4. Raw cotton and yarn3816.

32851. 23166. 5-17. 03 5. Textile and articles thereof2428. 92552. 2280515.

48 6. Capital machinery2043. 21654. 31836. 5-10. 12 7. Others14022. 414739.

616265. 316 Sub Total28776. 828130. 231018. 87. 79 8. Import by EPZ enterprises11970. 41724.

21929. 1-2. 1 Grand Total ( c & f )30747. 229854.

432947. 97. 16 Source: Statistics Department, Bangladesh Bank Major Imports : Oil, edible oil, petroleum product, wheat, seeds, fertilizer, yarn, capital goods, machinery, power generating machinery, scientific & medical equipment, iron & steel, motor vehicles, raw cotton, chemicals.Major trading Partners are USA, EU countries, China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Product wise import Trends From the following data we can see that Bangladesh is importing many goods from other countries. The major products they are importing are Food, Oil, garments raw materials, fertilizer, chemical etc. From the data it is clearly visible that, our import expenditure has been doubled in last ten years. (In million US Dollars) Major Commodities2000-012001-022002-032003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-092009-102010-11 1. FOOD GRAINS349 186 409 431 57441858114108828371911 i. Rice1721521114426211718087423975830 ii.Wheat1771711982873123014015366437611081 2. Milk & cream6259616186738313796106161 3. Spices151332304232768062109127 4. Oil seeds647264738690106136159130103 5. Edible oil218251364471441473583100686510501067 6. Pulses all sorts8688145120159164195327234350292 7. Sugar4623104110220124294396413650654 8. Clinker106150144139170210240347314333446 9. Crude petroleum273242267252350604524695584535923 10. POL5664816207701252140017092058199720213186 11. Chemical3393353534065105806688909609721254 12. Pharmaceutical products333944454150496280103116 13. Fertilizer1291071091503323423576329557171241 14. Dyeing, tanning etc. materials918786109132148161218259275333 15.Plastics and rubber articles thereof2612502813674775236438088409661302 16. Raw cotton3603123935836667428581212129114392689 17. Yarn3222832703233935015826917927181391 18. Textile and articles thereof12911063110612951571172818921892209919862680 19. Staple fiber39394157757697110112118180 20. Iron,steel and other base metals4644134554796809809851179150214532004 21. Capital machinery 4825625687861211153919291664142015952325 22. Others30242858301529592727288734014385528958627132 Sub total :8650791389311001612195136841601320335212052232531517 Imports of EPZ685627727887952106211441294130214132141 Grand Total :9335854096581090313147147461715721629225072373833658At the end of financial year’s (2010-11) last 11 months (July – May) our trade deficit was 710 cror and 30 lakh USD. This deficit is more that 38% of its last financial year (2009-10), which was 515 cror and 20 lakh. As a result trade deficit of Bangladesh has crossed the mark of 700 cror USD for the first of history. This is due to excess importing. This creates pressure of trade balance. Trade deficit in million dollars: (Source: The Daily Prothom Alo, August 17, 2011. Page no. 15) CONTROLING REMARKS: •There is a significant gap between export revenue and import expenditure in Bangladesh. This gap needs to reduce for the betterment of the country. In terms of export, there is lots of scope in different parts of the world; government should look for new countries where they can exports goods in large amount. •In last few years, there is negative gap between targeted export and actual export, which need to be adjusted by finding the reason behind the gap. •Encouraging jute goods and frozen food export, so that the country can earn more foreign currency from these goods. •Buildup a strong policy enhances exports & reduce the trade deficit which expand our local industry. Reference: •http://www. bangladesh-bank. org/econdata/import/categoryimp. php •http://www. epb. gov. bd/ •http://www. bangladesh-bank. org/pub/index. php •www. mof. gov. bd/en/budget/rw/external_sector. pdf •www. tdrju. net/index. php/tdr/article/view/7/23