Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has recommended against increasing the cash incentives on exports of electrical and electronic products, home appliances, cow and buffalo horns, and bone powder.
Under instructions from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), the BTTC expressed such opinion as the exporters concerned do not provide necessary trade data, sources said.
Earlier, Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise Manufacturers Association (BEMMA) had requested the ministry to increase the assistance from existing 10 per cent to 20 per cent for the next 10 years to promote and diversify exports from the sector.
A private entity, Ariba Productions, has also requested an increase in the cash incentives.
Sector-insiders said they want the government to increase the rate of cash incentives to help them survive competition.
"In the process of preparing the recommendation, the BTTC repeatedly requested the association and exporters concerned to provide export-related data. But they didn't turn up despite repeated reminders," said a source.
Refrigerator, freezer, TV, air-conditioner, washing machine, microwave, juicer and blender, air-cooler, LED lights, fans, switch and sockets are known as consumer electronic/electrical household appliances.
Earlier, BEMMA leaders had wanted that the government increase the rate of cash incentives on export earnings for survival in competition with China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced light-engineering goods as the product of the year for 2020 at the inaugural of this year's Dhaka International Trade Fair.
The country earned US $100 million from shipments of electric products in the fiscal year (FY) 2021-22, over 48 per cent higher than that of FY 2020-21, official figures showed.
In the first six months of the current FY, local electric products fetched $48.07 million compared to $43.44 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
Export receipts from electronic products were recorded at Tk 9.0 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22.
However, although there are no specific data available on the EPB official page, the country's export earnings from cow/buffalo horn and bone powder were not satisfactory.
