It is time to boost our nation’s export for currency earning

It contributes 45 per cent for the Growth Domestic Production. And it is also the largest export earner with a share up to 85 per cent.

Hence, to rise the nation's currency earning capacity paying attention to the agricultural sector, collecting the export items properly, setting competitive price and developing efficient transport network are essential.

The major agricultural export commodities are coffee, diamond, cotton and coffee. All have been serving for a long time as export items. Hides and skin are among in the traditional export items.

Currently meat and live animals have been playing crucial roles in this regard. Flower is the non-traditional export commodity and the volume is growing from time to time.

As both crop and animal farming is dominated by traditional mode of production and characterised by small scale farmers and livestock production, less input utilisation with less output is the major feature of the sector. The vulnerability of the sector to herbs, insects and diseases make it more fragile. The current global warming and climate change also makes the sector to stay less glamorous.

If the weather proves good, bumper harvest is registered and at the same time, more foreign currency inflows. The reverse is true in times of adversity.

Hence, to enhance the role of agriculture in the nation's export earning, improving the sector with better farming, utilising more inputs and making the sector climate resilient is vital.

The government is striving to boost the nation's foreign currency earning capacity.
However, due to various reasons the nation's currency earning capacity from these industrial commodities is below the desired level.

The textile industry also has its own inherent problem which slackens the nation's hard currency earning capacity.

It is repeatedly reported that, due to insufficient production of textile, the nation has missed chances to benefit from the AGOA which invites African countries to sell textile products in the US markets free of tariffs.

Hence not to meet the chance and opportunity, redoubling the effort to tackle the sector's weakness should be prioritised. In this regard, expanding cotton farms in order to satisfy the local cotton demand from local sources should be underlined.

Currently, the nation is aspiring to transform the economy from agriculture-led economy to an industry led one, to clearly underline this and to achieve the goal the nation should expand the importation of capital goods such as machinery and equipment used for the installation of manufacturing industries. These means the nation need more hard currency to service the importation bill.

Therefore, unless the nation's export-earning capacity is doubled attaining the set goal is very hard. Both the quality and quantity of the export commodity must be improved. Currently, most export items are sent to foreign market in a raw form without value addition.

Contrary to this, the nation imports value added goods to meet its development aspiration and these all indicate how much sacrifice is ahead of us to meet the transformation demand.

Hence, the country must step up efforts towards boosting export for currency earnings to address the problems which hinders the export sector.