State Minister for Planning, Dr. Shamsul Alam on Sunday said that the average import tariff in Bangladesh is higher than that of the competitive countries so until it is rationalized it will be difficult to enhance export competitiveness and the government has already taken initiative in this regard.
Mentioning that the Import tariff policy somehow influence the inflation situation, Dr. Alam said the government is very much concerned about the inflation because it is causing tremendous suffering for the general people.
"The government is trying hard to reduce inflation, even in some cases the public expenses have been reduced already to curb inflation", state minister said expressing hope that the inflation situation will be a bit relaxed after the new seasonal crops become available in the market and supply situation get improved
Minister made the remarks while addressing as chief guest at a workshop organised jointly by Economic Reporters Forum and RAPID, a renowned economic think tank on the country In collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung FES Bangladesh, on Sunday titled "Findings sharing on Bangladesh's export diversification to the European Union (EU) and Data Journalism".
The workshop took place at the conference room of the ERF at Platan in the capital with ERF President Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha in the chair.
Executive Director of RAPID, the Research and Policy Integration for Development, also Professor of Dhaka University Dr. M Abu Eusuf delivered welcome address while RAPID Chairman Dr. Abdur Razzak conducted the workshop and presented keynote papers on the occasion.
ERF Assistant General Secretary, Md. Mizanur Rahman moderated the workshop while Program Adviser of FES Bangladesh.
