Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has sought duty-free access to the Malaysian market for Bangladeshi products, with a view to narrowing down the existing trade gap between the two countries.
"Due to the high duty rate imposed by Malaysia, it is not possible for Bangladesh to export its goods to Malaysia. As a result, the trade gap between the two countries is very high," the minister said.
The minister made the request 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 export products to Malaysia for the duty-free facility in order to reduce the ongoing trade deficit, the minister said.
If the duty-free facility is available, the export of Bangladeshi products to the Malaysian market will increase, he observed.
Malaysia is a friend of Bangladesh; Bangladesh has a long history of commercial and economic relations with the country - it imports various products from Malaysia, including vegetable fat and palm oil, Mr Munshi told the meeting.
The commerce minister said that Bangladesh had imported goods worth $3,289.5 million in the last fiscal year of 2021-2022, whereas it exported goods worth $337.81 million.
Trade deficit between the two nations stood at $2,951.69 million, said the minister, adding that there was no alternative to increasing the export of Bangladeshi products to Malaysia to reduce this massive trade deficit.
Malaysian High Commissioner Haznah Hashim said her country was interested in enhancing trade and economic relations with Bangladesh.
Malaysian cars are very popular in the world market, she said, adding that exporting these cars to Bangladesh was not possible due to high duty rates.
If the duty is reduced, it will be possible to export them to Bangladesh, Hashim said.
There are many more opportunities for business and trade growth between the two countries that Malaysia wants to exploit, she added.
