Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said country’s leather and leather products would register US$ 5 billion export earnings by 2021, reports BSS. “The government is providing 15 per cent cash incentive for the export of leather products while offering additional 5 per cent incentive for those products which are being exported from Savar Tannery Industry,” he added. The minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared the leather and leather products as “the Product of the Year-2017” in Dhaka International Trade Fair, as part of government’s effort of prioritizing a sector specially each year. “As part of this policy, the government is offering cash incentive to leather and leather products,” he said while addressing a press conference in a city hotel organized for the product of the year-2017. Mentioning that Bangla-desh’s second largest export earning sector leather and leather products are moving ahead gradually, Tofail said: “If the trend is continued, Bangladesh would appear as one of the competitive countries in the sector globally.” Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Textile and Jute Secretary Shubhashish Bose, Industry Ministry Additional Secretary Begum Parag and Tanners’ Association President M Shahin, among others, also spoke with Senior Commerce secretary Heday-etullah Al Mamoon in the chair. Earlier, the minister inaugurated a mega event titled “Engagement of Stake-holders’ for Responsibility and Sustainable Value Chain in Bangladesh Garment Sector” in a city hotel organised by BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology along with the Netherlands Initiative for Capability Development in Higher Education. The minister also opened three-day Intern University Business Plan Competition-2017 organised by East West University Business Club.
