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JAFAR-HALAL MARKET
Scope emerges to tap growing ‘halal’ market: commerce secy
DHAKA, Nov 11, 2020 (BSS) – Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin today said that a scope has come before the country to tap the huge and growing export market of ‘halal’ products.
”A big market of ‘halal’ products has been created across the globe and this market is growing day by day. So, an opportunity has come before us to expliot this export market (of the products),” he told a workshop as the chief guest at CIRDAP auditorium in the capital.
“We’ve a capacity to export ‘halal’ products and we’ll have to seize this scope,” he added.
The Ministry of Commerce organised the event titled “Certification capacity of all products including halal products and export potentials of halal products” said a ministry press release.
Mentioning that Bangladesh is going to become a developing country after coming out of the LDC status by 2024, Jafar said that various facilities like GSP would not remain in place for it during that time and this would pose a big challenge before the country’s export.
“There is no alternative to expanding export markets, and new export goods will boost our export earnings. We’ll have to attain certification capacity of all products including ‘halal’ one and thus raise export earnings,” he said.
The secretary said the Ministry of Commerce has been working to this end under the directives of the commerce minister, adding it’s possible to multiply the country’s export earnings by 10 times.
Jafar said the ministries and divisions concerned as well as private sector would have to come forward in this regard with professional attitude, and thus it would be possible to take a big chunk of the global market of ‘halal’ products.
Pointing out that many countries have formed ‘halal certification authorities’, the commerce secretary said Bangladesh could also follow the experiences of these countries in this regard.
“We’ve sufficient number of ‘halal’ products and skilled manpower, and we could further enhance the skills of this manpower through training,” he noted.
Jafar opined that cash incentives can be increased for exporting ‘halal’ products, while Bangladesh’s foreign missions also can be used for the purpose. “This will surely make Bangladesh successful in exporting ‘halal’ products,” he hoped.
Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary M Hafizur Rahman presided over the workshop, while Dhaka University Economics Department Professor Rumana Haque presented the keynote paper.
Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary (export) M Obaidul Azam spoke as the special guest and its Additional Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman moderated the programme.
Business leaders present at the workshop put forward a number of suggestions in this connection and some of those were accepted, the release added.
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