FROM PAGE 4
Export Promotion Bureau, the National Board of Revenue, the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and all other regulators on the other. Hats off!
THE ANTICLIMAX
The bottom line, however, remains that of a titanic $4.5 trillion annual trade of the US with the world, we could only capture a paltry 0.23 per cent market share. It is far less than 1 per cent, with the top three Canada, Mexico, and China holding 14 per cent of the pie each.
How do we broaden our share then? What can we do differently? What crafts can elevate us to a one-per cent holding? A quick look at our export basket to the US will say it all.
We have exported 67 major kinds of products to the US in the first nine months of the current fiscal year but the poor composition of it is painful.
Articles of apparel knitted or crocheted and not knitted or crocheted sit tight on the top of the table with $6.59 billion worth of export, holding an 86.53 per cent share of our total export.
Footwear, other made-up textile and headgears are the only other export items we have that could cross the $200-million mark. Travel goods, artificial flowers, articles of human hair, furniture, and mattresses are striving to make a mark.
Our export to the US was $7.62 billion as of March, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.
The harsh reality is that our excessive dependence on readymade garments is still omnipresent. We are not going to repeat the diversity prescription here as our export to the US is quite diversified already.
Entrepreneurs and government are appeared to be trying everything from pharmaceuticals to ceramic ware, from toys and games to glass and glassware, and from electrical machinery to plastics to feed the target destination.
Why success is hard to come by though is a debate we would spare today. It is an occasion to celebrate the milestones and keep the spirits high for the next nine months.
Just a quick food for thought if we leave here: if some more of our big-name exporters in non-apparel industries had been a little more mindful about the depth of the US market, that could have done wonders. For instance, fish and lobsters. For our fish exporting giants, Europe continues to be the comfort zone. Sadly, the $40-million export to the US is largely consumed by the Bangladeshi diaspora. So, one can call it a pseudo export.
MYTH VS REALITY
The name America generally does not click in people’s minds when it comes to inward remittances. It is always the Middle East that we think all the remittance is coming from. But our central bank data shows the US is the second-highest remittance sending country after Saudi Arabia. In the last financial year, it was $5.72 billion and $3.46 billion, respectively.
Surprised? Then, brace yourself for more bumping!
When it comes to foreign direct investment, many would put China first. Many others might name Japan or Korea. The fact of the matter is these countries are our valued partners, but not really the toppers if FDI stock is counted.
The top three investing countries are the US, the UK and the Netherlands.
The cumulative FDI inflow from the US stood at $4.32 billion as of December 2021, out of the $21.58 billion global total. That is one single country has invested one-fifth of the total FDI that came from all around the world.
LAST WORD
America leads in more ways than one then!
In FY2019-20, America reclaimed its position as the top destination for our export with Germany, the UK and Spain as the next three major markets. 2020-21 followed suit. This fiscal year, the US is on a hat-trick as our biggest buyer on earth.
Let us raise our glasses to the champion!
The author is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and a former commercial counsellor at the Los Angeles Consulate. He can be reached at amamoon42@gmail.com