High tariff limits garment export to Turkey: Commerce minister

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Monday said high tariff rates are restricting Bangladesh’s garment export to Turkey.

“Our garment export to Turkey is not rising because of high tariff rates there,” said the minister after a meeting with the ambassador of Turkey in Dhaka at the former’s secretariat office.

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, Bangladesh’s exports to Turkey were worth $453 million, while Turkey’s export to Bangladesh stood at $233 million, said the minister.

“It is possible to increase the trade volume if the problems are identified and resolved through discussion,” Munshi said.

Mentioning that Turkey is one of the biggest buyers of Bangladesh’s jute and jute items, he said Bangladesh exported jute goods worth around $200 million to Turkey last year.

Bangladesh is an attractive place for investment as construction of around 100 special economic zones is already going on, the minister told the Turkish ambassador.

Many countries have come forward to invest in Bangladesh and the government is providing them with a better business-friendly environment, the minister pointed out.

The commerce minister said Bangladesh will graduate to a developing country from the least developed one by 2024 and the process of signing the Free Trade Agreements or the Preferential Trade Agreements with other countries is under way to increase the trade facilities in future.

Drawing Turkey’s attention to invest in Bangladesh, Munshi said Turkey will be benefited if it invests in Bangladesh’s ICT, medicine and readymade garment sectors.

Citing that Turkey is the number one buyer of Bangladesh’s jute goods, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan expressed his country’s eagerness to invest in Bangladesh.

Turkey already imports readymade garment items from Bangladesh and it is now thinking about working on design of the RMG products, Turan added.

Turkey can export machineries for the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh, said Turan, adding that his country also wants to go for a joint venture with Bangladesh to improve trade volume between the two countries.

He assured the minister that Turkey would decrease the tariff rates on Bangladeshi readymade garment products for increasing the existing trade volume.