The policy included pharmaceutical products in the list of thrust sector and nine more products identified as special development sector.

"The government's main objective of the policy is to enhance export growth in order to alleviate poverty for reaching the millennium development goals," Finance and Commerce Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said while announcing the new policy at a press conference at the commerce ministry conference room.

Under the new export policy, agro-products and agro-processing items, light engineering products including auto-parts and bicycles, shoes and leather products, software and ICT products, and home textile will be in the thrust sector.

Finished leather, frozen fish, fresh flower and foliage, jute products, textile items by indigenous people and diamond polishing are the new sectors added to the special development sector that already has handicrafts, electronics and herbal medicine and plants.

Items excluded from the special development sector are cosmetics and toiletries, luggage and fashion products, CR coil, cards and calendar, stationery items and rayon.

Mirza Aziz hoped that the new policy would be effective immediately after a gazette notification. Commerce Secretary Firoz Ahmed and senior officials were present at the press conference.

The new policy exempted pre-shipment inspection requirements to ease the export procedure and excluded bamboo, child shrimp and sweet-water shrimp from the negative list.

Outbound passengers used to be able to carry $100 worth of product along with them abroad but with the new export policy implemented, they would be able to carry $200 worth of product.

Mirza Aziz said the new policy did not make any projection of export growth and the government assumed that the private sector would make efforts to increase exports taking advantage of the measures taken by the government.

Replying to a query whether cash incentive is to be given to the targeted sectors, he said it would be reflected in the budget. The government would ensure administrative measures to stop leakage of the incentives, he added.

Replying to another question, the adviser said the policy was formulated in line with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) policies and not considering any bilateral strategy that could help solve bilateral problems like non-tariff barriers.

The new policy allows individual exporters to export samples including pharmaceutical items worth $5,000 annually at most.

The allowable limit of pharmaceutical samples is $10,000 and ready-made garments (RMG) samples $7,500.

The policy also offers incentives in getting ISO certification, yearly awards for the women exporters and selection of women CIPs (Commercially Important Persons), and "product of the year" awards to promote a product a year.

The government, through the policy, will try to promote branding of some Bangladeshi products abroad to raise their values.