Even as Bangladesh is getting ready to make the much-awaited transition to join the big league of developing nations from the current least-developed country (LDC) status, there would be implications in the export front!
According to a study titled ‘Impact assessment and coping up strategies of graduation from LDC status for Bangladesh’ prepared by the General Economics Division (GED), which is under the Planning Ministry, Bangladesh’s export earnings and the flow of concessional foreign financing and grants will decline once it becomes a developing nation.
The study, prepared before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Bangladesh, has projected loss of exports and grants and higher debt service costs would lead to higher current account deficit with the biggest blow emerging in the form of the loss of duty-free market access with projected export loss from garment products in the non-European Union and European Union markets estimated to be about 5 per cent of the total exports in the fiscal year of 2017-18.
As per the study, this amounts to a loss of US $ 7 billion in FY27, which would subsequently increase to US $ 13 billion by FY31 even as it suggested policy actions to counter the projected losses.
