& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

High lending rates, freight charges hurt exports

Khosru tells DCCI seminar

STAR BUSINESS REPORT
Echoing the sentiment of the businesspeople, Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday said Bangladesh exporters are now facing problems for high lending rates and bank and freight charges.
"It is very difficult for the exporters to survive when they are forced to pay double digit interest rate on loans. Besides, high bank and freight charges are absolutely shocking," he said speaking at a seminar in Dhaka.
The minister urged the members of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) to carry out a study on the matter and launch a cam-
paign against it.
"DCCI should look at how much bank and freight charges and interests its members are paying. You should undertake an exercise and come up with facts and figures to launch a campaign and mobilise public opinion against these," he said.
DCCI organised the seminar on 'Policy on Export, Export Diversification in the context of Globalisation' at its auditorium in Dhaka. DCCI President Matiur Rahman chaired the seminar while Commerce Secretary Suhel Ahmed was the special guest.
Chief technical advisor and team leader of Bangladesh Export Diversification project David
Holbourne presented the keynote paper.
In his speech, the DCCI president said Bangladesh's export to the US, the single largest market, dipped by more than Tk 2,000 crore during the last two years, specially after the September 11 incident.
Many of the local industries have become sick and many closed down mainly due to trade liberalisation, he pointed out.
The government has formulated many favourable policies like export, import and industrial policies but there was lack of effective and timely implementation of these policies, the DCCI president said.
David Holbourne said the government's export policy is well
founded, but strategies for its implementation should be reviewed.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) should be encouraged as a key element in export development through technology and skills transfer, he observed.
Director General of the Export Promotion Bureau Mustafa Mohiuddin said 96 per cent of Bangladesh's total export income comes only from 10 per cent products while only four per cent earning comes from 90 per cent products.
Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority M Mofizur Rahman said private sector institutions play key role in attracting foreign investment in the country.