Bangladesh’s export to turkey has reduced by 20 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, mainly because of the 17 per cent safeguard duty imposed by the European country on Bangladeshi readymade garments.
Exporters and commerce ministry officials said that despite diplomatic efforts and prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s requests, Turkish authorities had not withdrawn the safeguard duty imposed in September 2011.
 Export Promotion Bureau data showed Bangladesh’s export to Turkey reduced to $447 million in July-April of the current fiscal year from $556 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.
Exporters said that although the country’s export growth to European states declined because
of economic crisis in Europe, the safeguard duty on RMG products has affected badly export to Turkey resulting in negative growth of export to this country.
Bangladesh’s export to EU countries increased by 10 per cent to $10,379 million in July-April
of the current financial year 2011-2012 from $9,441 million in July-April of FY 2010-2011.
The annual growth in export to EU countries was 45 per cent in FY 2010-2011 while the export growth to Turkey was 51 per cent in the year compared with FY 2009-2010.
The Turkish government imposed 17 per cent safeguard duty on products of Bangladesh and other least developed countries in September 2011.
Exporters of Bangladesh and government officials have requested Turkey, with no success, to remove the duty or reduce it to at least 10 per cent.
Prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in her official visit to Turkey in April tried to convince the authorities there to withdraw the duty, but the European state did not move from its position.
The director general of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, Salahuddin Mahmud, told New Age last week that the negotiation with Turkey on the safeguard duty was going on. ‘I hope we will succeed in this case,’ he added.
The president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh, Abdus Salam Murshedy, apprehended that the overall export to Turkey would be reduced further in the coming
days. ‘Along with safeguard duty imposed by Turkey, our export is being hurt because of global economic crisis and some internal factors like power outages, inadequate gas supply and increasing bank interest rates,’ he told New Age on Saturday.
He requested the government to continue with its diplomatic efforts to convince Turkey to remove the safeguard duty.