Subsidies for gas and electricity for the country's industrial sector will help boost exports, said Faruque Ahmad Siddiqi.

He was speaking at a presentation on "Market Access Barriers Confronting LDCs Products" in the capital. Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in collaboration with the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC, USA, organised the presentation programme.

Mohammad Hossain, former managing director of Sonali Bank, presented the keynote paper.

Speaking at the presentation, the discussants said 50 least developed countries (LDCs) have been struggling to find ways to diversify their exports.

DCCI President Sayeeful Islam said Bangladeshi exporters need to pay $300 million in tariff for exporting goods worth $2 billion to US, but France pays the same tariff exporting products worth $30 billion.

"Developing the quality of products, producing demand-based goods and bringing innovation in production can save us from the western protectionism," said DCCI president.

Communication gap between the chambers and the commerce ministry and non-cooperation by the ministries concerned in providing information on new market are some major setbacks for the country's exports, he said.

Mohammed Hossain said local barriers are more dangerous than external ones in getting access to international markets.

Former commerce secretary Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury urged the government to negotiate properly with countries concerned for the relaxation of rules of origin at the upcoming WTO meeting.

"The commerce ministry has adopted a comprehensive export policy to get market access," said Vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Mir Shahabuddin Mohammad.

He asked the exporters to strictly follow the compliance issues, which are vital for export-oriented business.

Among others, Alamgir Faruque, former commerce secretary, Manzur Ur-Rahman, vice president of DCCI, were present at the presentation.