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Bangladesh is now considering establishing an 'electronic platform' to facilitate bilateral export-import trade with Russia, which proposed the mechanism amid sanctions due to the Ukraine war.
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the ICT Division under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology (MoPTIT) would implement the platform project after holding necessary consultation with the stakeholders concerned, said a senior official.
"We already had a meeting with the stakeholders like home ministry, ICT division, central bank etc. that emphasised on preparing a cross-border trade policy before launching the platform," he said, adding the authorities concerned were working on it due to the changing global situation.
The Russian Federation wants to establish the platform for development of a bilateral programme of preferences for the export-import operations under a proposed bilateral 'Roadmap-2022-2025'.
The roadmap also aims at "adapting or configuring partner services to search for potential buyers or suppliers via electronic trading platforms" in the two countries.
The roadmap was designed in light of the Bangladesh-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (BR-IGC) protocol signed earlier to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development sent the roadmap with 29 identified sectors for bilateral cooperation under the protocol.
"Creating a programme of preferences for the export-import operations through electronic trading platforms and special partner services used to find suppliers," according to the roadmap.
Bangladesh has a huge potential for exporting different products including frozen food, knitwear, jute goods and shrimp.
The export volume is not increasing to the desired level due to various complexities in direct banking transactions amid the sanctions on Russia, according to high officials at the MoC.
Dhaka is desperately exploring alternative payment systems amid multiple sanctions, including SWIFT ban, on Russia as bilateral trade will suffer a setback without a free-and-safe transaction mechanism.
Bangladesh's total export to Russia was US$665.32 million and import from Russia amounted to U$481.88 million in fiscal year 2020-21. The total bilateral trade stood at U$1.1 billion only. The export earnings from Russia declined to $638.30 million in FY 2021-22.
Bangladesh's major export items include jute, shrimp and tobacco. Shrimp being an expensive food item is likely to face an export setback due to a decline in demand amid a potential recession in Russia.