Experts at a discussion today observed that accreditation of products and services will support the future of global trade. They mentioned that in FY2025-26 Bangladesh’s export target will be US$100 billion and to attain this high export target accreditation and conformity assessment will play a crucial role to maintain products quality and standard to be competitive in the international market.
They made the observation while speaking at the discussion held on the occasion of ‘International Accreditation Day 2023’ jointly organized by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) at DCCI auditorium in the city, said a press release.
Accreditation of products and services to help boost exports: experts
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun was present on the occasion as the chief guest while Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana and DCCI President Barrister Md Sameer Sattar were present as special guests. Director General (Additional Secretary) of BAB Md Monwarul Islam chaired the discussion meeting. Humayun said that the motto of this year’s accreditation day is “Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade” which is a very timely selection.
He said, “If we can maintain the quality of products and services, we can grab the international market easily. For the sake of the country and to create confidence on our products in the global competitive market, BAB is working relentlessly to create awareness.”
“The accreditation system should be more effective especially for the development of those industries that are related to health, security, safety and environment. Accreditation is an integral part of world quality assurance system, he added. “In order to increase export of our locally made products in the international market, we need internationally accredited and credible national quality infrastructure,” he opined.
In this era of free economy, he said, many countries impose various ‘technical barriers to trade’ to protect their respective products and most of those are related with quality certification. Therefore, accreditation is currently an important tool for creating a strong export market, he added.
Sameer Sattar said that in the international market, Bangladesh’s total trade was US$ 141.42 billion.”Bangladesh is gradually progressing to an export-oriented country from import-dependent country. In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export was more than US$ 52.08 billion. And for this, export accreditation is a very important tool. To show the quality of specific product, there is a need of internationally accredited certificate and these certificates play the pivotal role for boosting export,” he said.
After Bangladesh’s graduation from LDC in 2026, he said, maintaining compliance of Bangladesh’s locally produced goods will be a great challenge. And to face this challenge and meet the GSP+ and other compliance criteria, accreditation will play the vital role, he added.
He also said that for a sustainable economic growth Accreditation Board has to work hard in order to ensure standard and compliance. Zakia Sultana said in order to secure the future trade, there is no alternative to accreditation.
She stressed on producing quality products and services to be competitive in the global market where taste and attitude of consumers are ever changing. Accredited labs are accepted in the international market and BAB has already accredited 124 institutions so far, she added.
She also informed that at present 21 Bangladeshi products need accreditation from India’s National Accreditation Board Limited (NABL) to enter into India. In this regard, she said, “We have to enhance the capacity of BAB so that our accreditation can get easy acceptance worldwide. People are not still aware of why accreditation is so important, so we need to create mass awareness.””If we can have our laboratories accredited, our export will get a boost, she further said. BAB has recently started Halal Accreditation Scheme,” she informed.
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