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The government has asked the Bangladesh missions abroad to identify five potential items each to diversify products and boost export earnings, sources said.
As part of the move, they said the commerce ministry has assigned the economic ministers, ministers (commercial), commercial counsellors and first secretary (commercial) to provide the list of goods and suggest necessary measures in this regard.
Currently, there are 61 Bangladesh missions abroad with 19 having commercial wings, according to the EPB.
The government has set an export target of US$ 72 billion for the current fiscal year (FY 2023-24), according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
"We've forwarded an instruction to send the list of products as soon as possible as the commerce ministry and EPB are now working on it," said a high official at the commerce ministry.
Earlier, the ministry had issued a separate directive to the counsellors to hold meetings with the buyers concerned and send monitoring reports.
There is a high demand for various Bangladeshi items including agricultural goods abroad. The counsellors can explore new export destinations for the potential items, the official continued.
Experts said Bangladesh is now taking preparations for graduating from the least developed country (LDC) status in 2026.
There is a growing need to diversify its economy and find new sources of growth to face possible challenges after graduation. The government should take necessary steps to handle the challenges.
The government needs to take required strategies for building a strong country brand for its agricultural products in the international market, they added.
The country is now in a fix with few export items, especially RMG. It is the high time to go for much needed diversification, they also said.