United News of Bangladesh

The two-day Meet Bangladesh Exposition (MBX) to showcase Bangladesh's potential export sectors, Medical and Personal Protective Equipment (MPPE), Leather and Leather Goods, Footwear, Plastics, and Light Engineering, will start on April 24. As part of the EC4J Project (Export Competitiveness for Jobs) with a collaboration between the Ministry of Commerce and the World Bank is organising the programme at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB), Dhaka. Commerce, Textile and Jute, Civil Aviation and Tourism Adviser SK. Bashir Uddin is scheduled to inaugurate the event. Sub-committee to be formed to address leather sector problems The exposition, which is aimed at positioning Bangladesh as a preferred sourcing destination for global markets, will start from 10 am and continued till 7 pm each day. These were disclosed at  press conference held on Thursday at Rupayan Millennium Square. Sheikh Mohammad Abdur Rahman, Joint Secretary and Deputy Project Director of EC4J Project, Aminul Islam, Procurement Specialist of EC4J Project and Tanveer Qamrul Islam, Client Service Executive, Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) Project were present. They said the event will host 120+ local exhibitors, more than 25 foreign buyers from Singapore, Libya, Colombia, Algeria, U.A.E, India, Malaysia, Bhutan and others countries, and over 1000 local buyers. The organisers said that it will be providing a unique platform for Bangladeshi manufacturers showcasing their products to connect global buyers, investors and industry leaders. The Meet Bangladesh Shows (MBS) of the EC4J Project has already taken place in different parts of the world. Leather industry of Bangladesh was represented at the 19th Cairo Inter Leather Expo from 23-25 January, 2025, said the organisers. The Plastic sector was showcased in Istanbul Toy Fair from 25-28 February, 2025. COMEX IT Show was held from 13-16 March, 2025, where Bangladeshi manufacturers showcased light engineering sector. The MPPE sector of Bangladesh was represented at the MedTec Japan which took place from 9-11 April, 2025.  

A sub-committee would be formed quickly to address the problems of leather sector of the country, aiming to fetch more export earnings. Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters’ Association Mohiuddin Ahmed Mahin said this while talking to reporters after holding a meeting with Commerce and Finance Adviser at Finance Ministry. He also mentioned that they would again sit with the adviser at his convenient to explore the untapped potentials of the leather sector. Mohiuddin said the factories at Savar tannery industrial estates are cent percent export-oriented and those are not entitled to sell leather in the local market. He alleged that due to the non-operational CETP at Savar Tannery estate, they have to sell their products almost 70 to 80 percent lesser prices than the global market. For this, they are also not being able to make value addition. Bangladesh has strong potential to boost leather-footwear exports: Dr Salehuddin Mahin also lamented that due to incapacity of the CETP they are also not being able to maintain a balance between the buying and selling price of leather.     He said the adviser assured them of resolving the existing problems with positive mindset. MA Rashid Bhuiyan, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters’ Association alleged that the previous government forced them to go to Savar tannery industrial estate and thus they could not do their business properly. He said the previous government officials lied to them and forced them to go there although there were no such infrastructures. “We’ve apprised the adviser about our problems and hopefully, he would solve the problems and gave us such assurance,” he added. Rashid said their main demand is to make fully functional the CETP.“We are yet to get the LWG certificate and we’re being affected for them,” he said. Asked about their assets which are in the red zones at Hazaribagh, he said that those areas might have been out of the red zone and discussion is also going on in this regard through joint venture initiatives.