Home ›› 23 Jan 2022 ›› Opinion
Bangladesh has already been branded as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The increasing flow of foreign remittance and export earnings together with political, social and economic resilience and stability helped Bangladesh achieve such a reputation. Bangladesh is now a repository of foreign exchange reserves worth nearly $ 50 billion, making Bangladesh an attraction for many economies expecting loans under currency swap arrangement. The phenomenal socio-economic development that has occurred during the regime of the current government can greatly be attributed towards the visionary roadmaps designed and implemented by the government. In the same vein, setting $ 80 billion export target, the government has once again come up with the ‘Export Policy 2021-2024’ which has been disclosed before the public recently.
Though some critics have described the policy as ambitious, export diversifications can help achieve the export target by 2024. Finding new markets can also be helpful in fulfilling this target. Multiple pieces of evidence suggest that Bangladesh is stumbling in the area of product diversification. There exist actually a few products which account for the majority of export earnings. The 2018-21 Export Policy targeted a $60 billion in exports. Over the last decade, export earnings increased from $ 15.57 billion to $ 40.54 billion. Bangladesh has been able to achieve 14.12 per cent export growth and export earnings of $ 45.39 billion in fiscal year 2021. The onslaught of Coronavirus stood as a key barrier to achieving export targets. The impacts of Covid-19 were so irresistibly deadly that the world at large suffered a serial economic blow along with other disruptions which are continuing unabated, so to speak, till date. A report, for instance, by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) identified a 42 per cent fall in the global FDI to an estimated $ 859 billion in 2020 from $ 1.5 trillion in 2019.
Expecting and ensuring double digit growth in the Bangladesh economy is contingent upon many factors including expansion of trade activities worldwide. With the current export to GDP ratio, Bangladesh must not take a back seat and should rather go the extra mile to enhance it. At present, adopting a circular economic model could be wise and time-befitting for boosting export volume. A circular economy aims to generate economic growth by maintaining the value of products, materials, and resources in the economy as long as possible, thereby minimizing the social and environmental damage caused by a linear economic approach. With five principles- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refurbish, and Renew- a circular economy has enormous capacity to push the mainstream economy upwards in many ways. The practice of reusing and recycling of wastage in Bangladesh is barely observed. Above all, activities related to the circular economy are totally absent across the country despite having policies on it. Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act 2018 has largely remained unapplied. India, China and Turkey have already turned their ship recycling facilities green as prescribed by the Hong Kong International Convention adopted back in 2009. Many countries in the world are now adopting circular economy policies that promote waste recovery and recycling. Indonesia, which is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, is planning to develop a National Circular Economy Roadmap which would be guided by the next National Medium Term Development Plan 2025-2029. By adopting circular economy opportunities in the five priority sectors, Indonesia’s GDP is expected to increase by 593 to 638 trillion rupiah ($42–$45 billion) in 2030. Moreover, the generation of around 4.4 million cumulative net jobs by 2030 will be another potential benefit of adopting circular economy in the world’s largest island nation.
Silver lining for Bangladesh is the recent consideration of the government to adopt the circular economy model in fulfilling economic goals. As part of forward looking steps, the government has planned to create a circular economy for reaching a target of $ 80 billion in export earnings by FY 2024. It is important to mention here that Bangladesh has to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 set by the United Nations. A prudential circular economy model will be instrumental in achieving most goals related to SDGs affairs. In Bangladesh perspective, circular economy policies have to be drafted right now for SDG 1- No poverty (maintaining SDG achievements), SDG 2- Zero hunger (moderately improving), SDG 3- Good health and well being (moderately improving), SDG 6- Clean Water & Sanitation (moderately improving), SDG 8- Decent work & Economic growth (stagnating), SDG 9- Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (moderately improving), SDG 11- Sustainable Cities & Communities (moderately improving), SDG 13- Climate action (maintaining SDG achievement), SDG 14- Life below water (stagnating), SDG 17- Partnerships for the goals (stagnating).
The graduation of Bangladesh from the status of LDC to that of a developing country in 2026, presages the risks and challenges of losing a range of trade-related facilities. Duty free and Quota free (DFQF) access of ‘Made in Bangladesh’ products to European Union (EU) countries will cease to exist. On top of it, Bangladesh’s lackluster performance in joining Free Trade Area Agreements (FTA) where duty free access is possible, will certainly aggravate the complexity of the challenges. Unlocking the potential of the blue economy needs time. Hence, the adoption and implementation of the circular economy policy might help the Bangladesh economy withstand the shockwaves of the probable economic challenges post LDC graduation. A wide range of technological supports have to be sought from the developed nations where the circular economy model became successful. If apparel wastage can be recycled and redesigned apart from plastic waste, it is possible to diversify exportable products. With a view to making the Circular Economy Policy and Initiative a success, the government’s commitment to provide monetary support has to be unequivocal and unwavering. It is true that the harm and loss of delay from the part of Bangladesh in turning waste into exportable products, will befall Bangladesh in the foreseeable future. It has been learnt that some South Asian countries have already embarked on the journey towards circular economy. Bangladesh should demonstrate prudence and far-sightedness by following suit. The sooner, the better.
The writer is an economic affairs analyst and PhD fellow. He can be contacted at mazadul1985@gmail.com
