Country’s merchandise export to Turkey dropped by 16.36 per cent in the past fiscal year (2017-18), according to the data furnished by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
It showed that Bangladeshi export to Turkish market declined to $528.27 million in FY18 while the amount was $631.61 million in FY17.
Export to Turkey has been declining for the last few years. Total export to the country was $661.88 million in FY16 which dropped in the next year (FY17).
Currently, Turkey is providing tariff-free market access for 79.7 per cent products to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). But the rules of origin of the Turkey GSP scheme are identical to those of the European Union’s (EU) Everything But Arms (EBA).
Meat, fish, food, and steel products are the major items kept in the negative list of products.
Last year, Bangladesh-Turkey Business Forum, a private sector initiative, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to move ahead for signing a Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (BFTA).
