The government is planning to increase benefits for export oriented leather and jute sectors against the backdrop of narrow export basket held largely by readymade garments, said finance ministry officials.

A meeting between the prime minister Sheikh Hasina and finance ministry officials led by finance minister was held on Thursday at the Ganabhaban to discuss the issues, they said.

On January 14, Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun referring to  instructions of the PM said that the government was taking initiatives to provide export incentives in the leather industry, including the RMG sector.

At present, the government provides cash incentives ranging from 7 per cent to 20 per cent for jute products and 10 per cent to 15 per cent for leather products.

The RMG exporters receive a 5 per cent cash incentive when exporting apparel items made from locally procured raw materials such as yarn and fabrics.

They also enjoy an additional 4 per cent cash incentive if the shipments are sent to non-traditional markets encompassing all export destinations except for the European Union, Canada, and the United States.

Furthermore, garment exports benefit from an additional 1 per cent cash incentive in all countries.

Besides, the RMG sector enjoys other incentives including bonded warehouse facilities, higher loan facilities from the export development fund and different services on easy terms.

The RMG sector that had enjoyed 25 per cent cash incentive until 1990s became the leading sector in exports and dominated the export basket accounting for about 85 per cent export incomes.

In FY 23, the country’s overall export incomes stood at $55.55 billion, with RMG exports fetching $46.99 billion.

Compared to the RMG incomes, export receipts from leather and leather goods stood at $1.22 billion in FY 23 while jute and jute product exports fetched $912 million in the same financial year.

Experts have already asked the government to expand the export basket ahead of the country’s graduation from the least developed countries’ block from 2026.

Many of the country’s export goods, especially RMG goods, will lose duty benefits provided by European Union countries and other developing nations.

The meeting, attended, among others, by Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rauf Talukder and finance secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder also discussed that leather and jute sectors had potential to make good growth in the international market once those are provided with additional support.