To achieve the $80 billion export target of the government for the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, the export development fund (EDF) should be raised to at least $10 billion and made accessible to all exporters, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Md Saiful Islam said Monday.

As per the Export Policy 2021-2024, the export target is $80 billion for FY24, yet the current EDF is only $7.5 billion, he added.

Saiful was addressing the MCCI-Policy Research Institute (PRI) post-budget discussion "Bangladesh from Vulnerability to Resilience and Rapid Inclusive Development" in the capital.

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Planning Minister MA Mannan was the chief guest at the event, Dr Shamsul Alam, state minister for planning, and Dr Zaidi Sattar, chairman of PRI, were special guests.

"Many areas in the proposed budget for FY23 have a lot of room for improvement as far as the business community's needs are concerned. The allocation of social safety nets is one such area," he noted.

There has been an increase in the allocation from Tk107,614 crore in FY22 to Tk113,576 crore considering the twin blows of the Russia-Ukraine war and the pandemic.

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"Also, natural disasters such as floods, which we are going through right now, will also be another challenge for the country," Saiful said.

"So, we are suggesting increasing the social safety net budget from the current level to a reasonable amount."

"Also, the personal income tax thresholds have remained unaddressed, which we thought should have been subject to changes, especially the tax-free threshold," the MCCI president said.

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"Considering the increase in per capita income to $2,824, we believe the personal income tax threshold should be increased to Tk400,000."