Tofail: When you depend on just one product, you end up being Venezuela
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Tofail: When you depend on just one product, you end up being Venezuela

Bangladesh

TBS Report
18 September, 2019, 08:45 pm
Last modified: 19 September, 2019, 11:59 am

Related News

  • In Venezuela, inflation and dollarisation deepen schism between private and state employees
  • Venezuela's oil exports fall 8% in April amid quality-linked delays -data
  • Chevron set to trade Venezuelan oil if US relaxes sanctions, sources say
  • US officials travel to Venezuela over Russia invasion of Ukraine: Report
  • Want to see the new EC act properly: Tofail Ahmed

Tofail: When you depend on just one product, you end up being Venezuela

He went on to describe how Venezuela is now inching towards a famine because of its heavy dependence on oil export

TBS Report
18 September, 2019, 08:45 pm
Last modified: 19 September, 2019, 11:59 am
Tofail Ahmed
File Photo: UNB

Former Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed warned against being excessively dependent on ready-made garments for export earnings, and cited the case of Venezuela as an example of what happens when a country depends too much on a single export item. 

The veteran Awami League leader, speaking at the CIP (export) and Export (trade) Award 2017 at a city hotel on Wednesday, emphasised diversifying products for export earnings.

He went on to describe how Venezuela is now inching towards a famine because of its heavy dependence on oil export.    

He said: "The GDP growth of Venezuela was 5.63 even in 2012, with 20 percent living under the poverty level. The country has become impoverished just after seven years."        

Their income was mainly hooked on a single sector. Venezuela was the second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.         

Shedding light on the crisis, Tofail said Venezuela fell into serious trouble after the Arab Spring when oil price hit a record low. The country began experiencing several other issues, too.       

"From then, inflation has gone to an 80,000 percent high. It will cross one lakh soon.    

Venezuela had 84 percent export earning from oil, and this blessing later turned into a curse, and is leading the country towards a famine," commented Tofail Ahmed, adding that export dependency on a single product is to blame.        

The member of the parliamentary standing committee on commerce noted that Bangladesh is also largely reliant on apparel export — nearly 84 percent of the total export.

Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez poured billions of dollars of Venezuela's oil wealth into social programmes. 

But the government of his successor, Nicolas Maduro, has had to struggle with plummeting oil prices, and an economic and political crisis that has left Venezuela in a state of near-collapse.

Elaborating on the crisis, Tofail Ahmed explicitly advocated for market expansion and for diversifying the existing basket of commodities. 

A total of 136 commercially important people were recognised for their contribution to export. As many as 68 businessmen, nearly half of the total, are from the ready-made garments and textile sector.

Moreover, many of the FBCCI directors who were awarded CIP status are garment entrepreneurs.    

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, secretary of the commerce ministry Md Jafar Uddin and Exporters Association of Bangladesh President Abdus Salam Murshedy also stressed the need for export diversification.          

Tofail Ahmed / Venezuela

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Collected
    Bangladesh among top 20 prospective solar farm capacity nations
  • The war has blocked Ukraine’s grain exports by sea, cutting off vital supplies for countries from Somalia to Egypt.Photographer: Islam Safwat/Bloomberg
    Russia is winning from the global food crisis it helped create
  • PM for protecting environment during implementation of development projects
    PM for protecting environment during implementation of development projects

MOST VIEWED

  • Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
    Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
  • Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
    Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
  • Traffic jam as overturned van rescue takes 6hrs
    Traffic jam as overturned van rescue takes 6hrs
  • Photo: Collected
    BSEC seeks explanations from Shakib Al Hasan on entering gold venture
  • Project delays: The Sinohydro case
    Project delays: The Sinohydro case
  • File photo of Mahfuz Anam
    Explanation by Mahfuz Anam

Related News

  • In Venezuela, inflation and dollarisation deepen schism between private and state employees
  • Venezuela's oil exports fall 8% in April amid quality-linked delays -data
  • Chevron set to trade Venezuelan oil if US relaxes sanctions, sources say
  • US officials travel to Venezuela over Russia invasion of Ukraine: Report
  • Want to see the new EC act properly: Tofail Ahmed

Features

Psycure has received various awards for their extraordinary contributions to promoting Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: Courtesy

Psycure: Meet the organisation serving the underserved university students (and beyond) with mental healthcare 

8h | Panorama
Underlying problems such as school dropouts need to be addressed first before taking a legal route to stop child labour. Photo: Reuters

‘Child labour in a country like Bangladesh is primarily a development issue, not so much of enforcement’

10h | Panorama
The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

1d | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

1d | Analysis

More Videos from TBS

Poet Nazrul Islam’s 123rd birth anniversary observed

Poet Nazrul Islam’s 123rd birth anniversary observed

8m | Videos
Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

4h | Videos
The alarming effects of the global food crisis

The alarming effects of the global food crisis

7h | Videos
Mangoes from Satkhira going to Iraq

Mangoes from Satkhira going to Iraq

8h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

5
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

6
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab