Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has sought duty-free access to Malaysia to widen Bangladesh’s export market.
“Due to the high duty imposed by Malaysia, it is not possible to export Bangladeshi products there. Because of this, the trade gap between the two countries is very wide,” the minister said.
He was speaking at a views exchange meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner Haznah Hashim at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital on Thursday.
Bangladesh has already sent a list of several export products to Malaysia for duty-free facilities to reduce the trade deficit, the minister said, adding the export of Bangladeshi products to the Malaysian market would increase if this duty-free facility is granted.
Bangladesh has a long history of economic relations with Malaysia. It imports various products, including vegetable fat and palm oil from the Southeast Asian country.
The commerce minister said that in the last fiscal year (FY22), Bangladesh imported goods worth $3,289.5 million from Malaysia and exported products worth $337.81 million, creating a trade deficit of $2,951.69 million.
“There is no alternative to increasing the export of Bangladeshi products to Malaysia to address this massive trade deficit,” he said.
Mentioning her country is interested in increasing trade with Bangladesh, Malaysian High Commissioner Haznah Hashim said Malaysian cars are very popular worldwide but exporting these cars to Bangladesh is not possible due to high duty.
“If the current duty is reduced, it would be possible to export them to Bangladesh,” she said.
