The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) will propose setting the country’s export target at $ 37 billion for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2016-17, officials said. The EPB has projected the target, which sees an 8.81 per cent or $ 3.50 billion rise over the current fiscal year’s export target of $ 33.50 billion. The proposed target was placed at a meeting of the EPB Wednesday where leaders of major export-earning sectors, including ready-made garment and frozen fish, differed with the government’s projection, saying that it might not be achievable if the proposed 1.5 per cent source tax is implemented. The EPB also expected that the country’s total export receipts would reach $ 34.0 billion by the end of this FY, reflecting an 8.95 per cent growth over the previous fiscal. “We have initially proposed the export earnings target for FY17, taking the last five years’ growth in the merchandise shipments into account,” Vice Chairman of EPB Mahruha Sultana told the FE after the meeting. The EPB chief said they will again sit with all stakeholders and send the proposal to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) shortly for approval. The country depends on limited markets and limited products, EPB officials said, adding that the country’s overall infrastructure has not developed to meet the required demand. For the current fiscal year, all 21 major export items, except for frozen fish and plastic, have been projected to grow. These include knitwear at 6.33 per cent, woven garments 11.69 per cent, leather and leather products 0.93 per cent, medicines 13.54 per cent, jute and jute goods 5.01 per cent and footwear 14.78 per cent. The upbeat forecast has been made despite the country’s largest export group openly questioning the wisdom behind such a rosy projection. “We don’t think we can achieve this target if the proposed source tax is implemented,” said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) director Shahidul Haque Mukul told the meeting. Source tax is applicable to sales, not to profit, he said, adding that the industry is passing a tough time after the Rana Plaza collapse and many factories especially small and medium-sized units were closed to various reasons. Moreover, there is acute energy crisis, he said urging the government to reduce the source tax to a reasonable rate mainly to help achieve the projected target. Echoing the BGMEA leader, representative from Bangladesh Frozen Fish Exporters Association also demanded cut in source tax to 0.30 per cent. Frozen foods industry insiders said $ 544 million earning is not possible unless the government provides the sector with bonded warehouse facility mainly to meet the scarcity of raw materials. “But before that, the target for the next fiscal might not be achieved,” BFFEA representative said. The EPB proposed $ 14.15 billion and $ 16.18 billion target from knit and woven products exports respectively. It also proposed $ 957 million export target with a growth projection of 4.93 per cent for jute and jute goods sector. It expects the sector to end the current fiscal year with $ 912 million earnings. Bangladesh earned $ 31.20 billion in FY 2014-15, $ 30.18 billion in FY 2013-14 and $ 27.02 billion in FY 2012-13 from exports respectively.
