Businesses highlighted the complexity of the current customs clearance process for trading agro-products, asserting that it raises the cost of doing business. The cost of a single consignment of agro products has surged by 62% annually, incorporating testing fees and port charges. To address these issues, they proposed the introduction of a trusted trade program by agencies, offering additional facilities to traders with a compliance history.
Suggestions also included incorporating risk management and customs clearance audit provisions in the upcoming import policy order. The program, organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the USDA-funded Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project, aimed to emphasize the importance of a risk management system in the agro-products supply chain. The Agriculture minister noted the potential of the agro sector for export diversification, highlighting its impressive growth in the previous fiscal year.