Local knitwear makers urged Saturday the visiting Kenyan business delegation for measures to remove barriers to enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries. The existing 25 per cent duty is one such impediment, they said, calling for reducing the rate. A 10-member Kenyan business delegation comprising private and public sectors headed by Charles Mahinda arrived Friday in the city for a weeklong visit to explore trade and investment opportunity in the country. Leaders of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) made the call in a meeting with the visiting delegation held at the trade body’s Dhaka office. BKMEA’s vice presidents AH Aslam Sunny and GM Faruque, Export Promotion Bureau vice chairman Mafruha Sultana, director general (Africa Wing) of foreign ministry Shamsul Haque and Rajeev Arora, Steve Odua and Charles Mahinda from the ministry of industry, trade and cooperatives of Kenya, among others, spoke in the meeting. “25 per cent duty is one of the major barriers to exporting to Kenya, though the country is a potential destination among other African countries for Bangladesh,” Mr Sunny said. He requested the delegation to raise the issue to their respective policy makers to reduce the duty aiming to enhance the bilateral trade between the two countries. He also sought investments from Kenya for the proposed ‘Knit Palli’ at Shantinagar Char, Madongonj. Bangladesh earned $10.78 million from exports to Kenya and knitwear exports stood at $0.38 million, while imported $3.10 million in the last fiscal. In 2016, Bangladesh exported knitwear products worth $78.61 million to the African region, according to BKMEA. The EPB vice chairman said Kenya and other African countries were big and potential markets for locally-made exportable products and there was scope for increasing bilateral trade between the two countries. “Kenya is well-known as the gateway to foreign trade in the African region,” Mr Arora said, adding that the country is preparing itself as one of the representative countries for garment made in the East Asian region. Both countries can benefit from bilateral agreement to ensure smooth supply of raw materials and enhance technical support, he noted. The delegation also held meeting with the leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and discussed the joint-venture opportunity.
