Bangladesh Drafts Five-Year Trade Plan to Navigate Post-LDC Export Challenges

Bangladesh's commerce ministry is preparing a five-year trade plan to address the export competitiveness challenges that will follow LDC graduation, with emphasis on market diversification, free trade agreement negotiations, and product upgrading.

A Strategic Post-Graduation Roadmap

Bangladesh's Ministry of Commerce is preparing a comprehensive five-year trade plan to address the export competitiveness challenges that will follow the country's graduation from least-developed-country (LDC) status in November 2026. The plan, currently in draft form, will cover the FY2027-FY2031 period and is expected to be finalised after consultation with private-sector stakeholders and trade associations.

Market Diversification as the Cornerstone

A central pillar of the trade plan is market diversification. With the EU and US accounting for the lion's share of Bangladesh's apparel exports, the country is over-exposed to a small number of markets. The new plan emphasises accelerated development of trade with Asia-Pacific partners (Japan, South Korea, Australia, China), the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), and emerging African markets. The commerce secretary stressed that simply preparing policies and research reports would not be sufficient — implementation capacity and trade-promotion infrastructure must also scale up.

Free Trade Agreement Strategy

The plan outlines a more proactive FTA negotiation strategy. Bangladesh's existing duty-free access under the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme will end after LDC graduation, and the country has been negotiating a successor Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. Parallel FTA negotiations are also being explored with the United Kingdom (post-Brexit partner), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Mercosur. The trade plan calls for strengthened negotiating capacity within the commerce ministry and clearer political direction on prioritisation.

Product Upgrading Beyond Basic Apparel

The plan recognises that Bangladesh's export basket remains heavily concentrated in basic apparel categories, where tariff disadvantages after LDC graduation will be most painful. To diversify, the government is prioritising higher-value products including pharmaceuticals (where Bangladesh already has a strong regulatory foundation), leather and footwear, jute composites, light engineering products, and IT-enabled services. Each priority sector will receive tailored support including market intelligence, certification subsidies, and buyer-seller meet facilitation.

Implementation and Monitoring

The commerce ministry has committed to publishing an annual implementation progress report against the five-year trade plan. Key performance indicators being considered include: number of new export markets entered, share of exports under preferential trade agreements, diversification index of the export basket, and average unit price realisation in priority sectors. The plan also calls for an independent mid-term review in 2029 to assess whether course corrections are needed.