DHAKA, Nov 19, 2023 (BSS) - Businessmen have urged the government for the
inclusion of risk management system in the import procedure to reduce time
and cost to conduct trade.

They emphasized on a major reform in the next Import Policy Order and
demanded lifting the 100 percent inspection requirement for imported
agricultural and food products.

The issues were raised at a seminar titled, "Issues of Cross-border Trade:
Importance of Risk Management System in Supply Chain of Agro-products"
jointly organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FBCCI) and USDA-funded Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project (BTF),
held today at the FBCCI Auditorium in the capital.

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Agriculture Minister Dr.
Mohammad Abdur Razzaque highlighted the country's self-sufficiency in food
grains and the government's efforts to modernize and commercialize the
agriculture sector.

He revealed plans to allocate space near the capital for testing agricultural
products, aiming to streamline the clearance process and minimize time and
cost for traders.

Razzaque also indicated that the government is willing to take any reform to
enhance quality export of the country.

Implementing risk management can impact Bangladesh's branding as a trusted
agro-trading partner and can be really beneficial in the post-LDC graduation
context, he added.

Earlier in his speech, FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam said, "There has been a
revolution in agriculture over the years. The government is working to reduce
the issues related with the cross-border trade. We will soon discuss with the
government to facilitate inter-trade".

Mahbubul also emphasized on the recent revolution in agriculture and
expressed the FBCCI's intention to collaborate with the government to
facilitate inter-trade.

Risk management is a new concept in Bangladesh and BTF is here to support the
government and private sector to understand and introduce it systematically
with all legal and institutional backup, mentioned Michael J Parr, Project
Director, USDA-funded Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project (BTF).

The keynote paper presented at the program highlighted that the physical
inspection and testing requirement of 100 percent of agro and food products,
without analyzing and assessing associated risk is unscientific and
impractical.

Risk management is a widely used international best practice that creates a
balance between facilitation and control by expediting the release of low-
risk products and imposing stringent interventions on the high-risk ones.

FBCCI senior vice president Md. Amin Helaly gave the closing speech at the
seminar.

FBCCI vice presidents Md. Khairul Huda Chopol, Anwar Sadat Sarker, Dr.
Joshoda Jibon Deb Nath, Shomi Kaiser, Md. Munir Hossain, FBCCI panel
advisors, directors, former directors and other business dignitaries were
present at the program.