Bangladesh's export to South Asian countries will get a boost with coming into force the South Asian Free Trade Arrangement (SAFTA), which will be implemented in the region in July, a trade leader said.

"Certainly the country's export trade in the region will increase with coming of SAFTA into force," Syed Jamaluddin Ahmed, Secretary General of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), told Xinhua Sunday.

He said the existing trade among the SAARC countries is only 3 percent and if the tariff barrier and non-tariff barriers have been removed, then export from Bangladesh to India and other SARRC member states will get a boost "hopefully".

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which came into being in 1985 hammered for the last 20 years to become an effective body, but failed to cooperate in trade cooperation in the region, which is widely blamed on the India- Pakistan rivalry of the two major partners of the group.

But all the member countries agreed to implement the free trade body SAFTA from January this year, and the countries decided to bring the SAFTA into force from July this year.

Bangladesh last year exported copper wire worth 10 million U.S. dollars. Ahmed said the export of the item should increase manifold. "I hope total exports of Bangladesh will increase with the implementation of SAFTA."

The trade leader said the most important issue is the entrepreneurial ability to take benefits of the new market opening up. "You do not know where the entrepreneurial skill will click to bring you fortune."

Explaining the new trade outlook, Ahmed said Bangladesh exported copper ware to India, which never flashed out as one of the country's major export item in the past.

Source: Xinhua