Make accreditation board vibrant export competitiveness: Experts

The country's business leaders and economists have urged the government to make the country's leading accreditation agency – Bangladesh Accreditation Board – vibrant in a bid to raise export competitiveness, keeping pace with rapidly changing global markets.

"We have an accreditation board, yet we need to go to neighbouring India for having accreditation [widely recognised] for some products, which is very pathetic," Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rizwan Rahman said at a programme on the occasion of World Accreditation Day 2022 at the DCCI office in the capital on Sunday.

Photo: Courtesy

"The process eventually delays our shipments," he added and urged the government to further strengthen the Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) with a strong collaboration with its global counterparts.

The business leader said the BAB should endorse quality certificates for the export items such as leather, jute and jute goods, plastic and frozen food, which are being issued by different local labs.

"The accreditation is essential for sustainable future economic growth," said Professor Md Imdadul Haque, vice-chancellor of Jagannath University, while presenting the keynote at the event, also attended by Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun.

Established in 2006, the BAB is well equipped, but it needs to be empowered more, he added.

"Our testing labs should be well equipped with modern technology so that our accreditation is accepted in the world market. Internationally accredited and reliable national accreditation infrastructure is crucial," said Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun. The government is now mulling formulation of a new quality policy for quality assurance, he added.

BAB Director-General Md Monwarul Islam said quality assurance in every aspect of the supply chain is inevitable. "We also need further coordination, cooperation and mutual assistance among the institutions involved in quality infrastructure."