The government will finalise a list of 300 products tomorrow (Monday) for seeking duty-free market access to Indonesia under a proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), officials said.
Under the move, they said, the ministry of commerce (MoC) has completed consultations with the stakeholders and received recommendations from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh.
"We (MoC) are set to finalise the list of 300 products on Monday. The list will be sent to Indonesia for approval," additional secretary of the MoC Sharifa Khan told the FE.
She said that after finalising the list, the MoC will send it to Indonesia through the ministry of foreign affairs, seeking approval by the Indonesian government.
Jute and jute goods, leather and leather goods, pharmaceuticals and garment items are among products.
Bangladesh is expected to get duty-free market access of 300 products under a proposed Bangladesh-Indonesia Preferential Trade Agreement (BIPTA).
The two countries are working on signing a PTA to boost bilateral trade and promote trade and economic partnership between the two countries.
Bangladesh and Indonesia have been maintaining excellent bilateral relations since establishment of diplomatic ties.
The two brotherly nations have huge trade potential to boost mutual trade further, according to the sector insiders.
The commerce ministry official further said that Indonesia will also send their list of 300 products for getting equal duty-free market access treatment from Bangladesh.
The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Indonesia increased significantly over the last few years. The two way trade reached $1.97 billion in 2018 with a 48 per cent growth since 2014.
The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Indonesia is expected to increase by fivefolds to around $10 billion in next 10 years, according to the sector insiders.
Bangladesh mainly exports leather and leather goods, jute and jute goods, agri-products and woven garments etc. and imports prepared foodstuffs, rubber and articles thereof, railway wagons and petroleum products etc.
