Salman Fazlur Rahman, adviser on private industry and investment to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the country's shipment of pharmaceutical products may cross US$5.0-billion mark within the next three to five years.
"Pharma export makes up about $1.0 billion now, but we expect to cross the $5.0-billion mark in the next three to five years," he told on the December-January issue of the fDi intelligence, a publication of the Financial Times.
Bangladesh now exports pharma products to over 100 countries.
He noted that the country is self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals with 99 per cent of the demand being met by local production.
Bangladesh now produces around 70 per cent of its required white goods (electrical goods used domestically, such as refrigerators and microwaves).
"Local companies, such as Walton, are growing at such a pace that they are now exporting their products to dozens of countries.
On clothing sector, the adviser told the world's renowned magazine: "We want to build on garment exports, go for higher end of the market, and increase backward linkages between producers and local suppliers."
He mentioned that the government is trying to diversify the industries, and one of the ways is through IT-enabled services.
"We have built a fiber-optic backbone across the country, and now we are the second largest internet workforce, after India."
Many investors want to invest in Bangladesh due to its market size.
"But there are some global investors, who want to use Bangladesh as base for exports to both China and India," he added.
