While we read in @dailystarnews1 that the Government of Bangladesh estimates a lower growth in exports due to insignificant progress in the diversification of products and markets, and for global turbulence, we go to the site DailyIndustruy.news2 to verify the crisis of tanneries, considered the main cause of environmental and river pollution, to which the Department of environment does not grant new authorizations for the management of solid and liquid waste of the much-discussed industrial park of Savar, forcing them to close. [1) Govt targets lower export growth for global turmoil – Daily Star; 2) Hide traders facing uncertainty – dailyindustry.news]
Bangladesh is targeting a lower export growth in 2022-23 despite raking in a record $52.08 billion in the last fiscal year largely because of insignificant strides in products and markets diversification and ongoing global turmoil.
The goal is up only 11.36 per cent from the actual receipts in 2021-22, when overseas sales surged 34.38 per cent, one of the sharpest paces of growth in recent years.
The energy crisis, global economic slowdown and high inflationary pressures will pose as major threats to Bangladesh in pulling off the export target.
The recovery from the pandemic, the global supply chain crisis, the Ukraine war, the recent trends in Bangladesh's overall economic and export growth, and the government's fiscal and non-fiscal incentives have been considered in setting the export targets.
The knitwear export target has been fixed at $25.6 billion from last fiscal year's $20.98 billion, while the country would depend on woven items to net $21.4 billion, which was $17.53 billion in FY22.
Two more sectors -- plastic and light engineering -- have the potential to earn more than $1 billion in the near future as they have higher demand in the global markets, said Abdur Rahim Khan, additional secretary of the commerce ministry.
The target for agricultural products has been fixed at $1.3 billion against $1.10 billion in FY22. Leather and leather goods exporters have been given the task of generating $1.3 billion in FY23 from $1.11 billion a year ago and jute and jute products exporters $1.2 billion, from $1.05 billion a year earlier.
Home textiles are expected to earn $1.8 billion in FY23, which was $1.46 billion in FY22. Some $604 million are being targeted from the sales of frozen and live fish and $964 million from engineering products.
The tannery crisis
As the Eid-ul-Azha, one of the largest festivals of Muslim is going to be celebrated on July 10, entrepreneurs of leather industry in Savar are apprehending to face complications over the collecting and processing of raw hides and skins after sacrificing the animals during the Eid.
There is dissatisfaction with the solid and liquid waste management of the much-discussed and long-implemented Savar Tannery Industrial Park. Meanwhile, tannery waste has also main caused of environmental and river pollution. For this reason, the Department of Environment is not giving new clearances to these institutions. Even those, who got clearance, their expired clearances are not being renewed. Many tannery industries may be shut down due to the strict position of the Department of Environment. The tannery owners said that, the Department of Environment is not giving new clearances due to the order of the high court. Even those who had earlier obtained clearance, their expired clearances have been blocked in the renewal process. If the tannery does not get environmental clearance or renewal in the next one or two days, there will be a big crisis.
