International Trades for Women in Bangladesh

international trades for women bangladesh, women in trade bangladesh

International trading means exchanging goods and services with nations on the other sides of the border. International trade is a country’s ticket to healthy GDP and a better DPI. International trading is being carried out for centuries with Silk Road being a good example albeit the real value of foreign trading has been realized only recently.

Due to geopolitical stability and the advent of faster, efficient means, increasing number of countries are becoming a part of this phenomenon.

International Trading In Bangladesh

Much like other developing nations, Bangladesh has developed true understanding of trading sans frontier and has accelerated its efforts since. Though productive, Bengali exports are limited in scope and hence are at the mercy of fluctuations of international market. Daring Tax-initiatives has improved the country’s exports dramatically.

Key contributors to Bengal’s Import are China, India and Singapore while the buyers that are responsible for growing exports include U.S.A, Germany, U.K and France.

Owing to International trade, Bangladesh is now:

Able to enjoy Products and services Bangladesh cannot produce/ provide.
Able to utilize its resources with maximum efficiency.
Capable of providing greater benefit to consumer in terms of variety, quality and satisfaction.
Able to earn more for same goods due to exports.
In a better position to reduce fluctuation in trading and achieve price stability by expanding market’s size.
Able to save any wastage and utilize surplus resources, simultaneously increasing foreign exchange.
At better terms with its neighbors and with other countries of the world.

Bengali Women in International Trade

Though Bengal makes approximately $174 billion in GDP, its expenditures and lack of opportunities of trades for women are the reasons Bangladesh has not been able to push the limits. Bangladesh has equality issues from the beginning but gender-biasness with women – which are half the country’s population – has been the key reason way Bangladesh’s performance is lackluster in some vital areas of economy.

Bangladesh’s women suffer from poor literacy, financial barriers and social restrictions to run a business of their own. Never mind the fact that women make up 90% of garment industry’s workforce, they are significantly lower than males in almost every other industry totaling 59% as compared to 83% working males.

Potential for Bengali Women in Trading

Past decade saw Bangladesh’s tilt towards manufactured goods. The country’s textile, footwear and leather industry has witnessed a boom in past decade. The good news for women is that textile industry is heavily crowded with female employees. The bad news is that only a handful of these garment and textile factories are owned by businesswomen and women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

With the country’s GDP attaining stability and employment rate taking a turn for the good, Bengali women in trades have a window of opportunity to engage in international trade.

Key trading areas for Bengali Women

Below are some areas where women of Bangladesh can flourish.

Garments and Clothing
Since 2006, Bangladesh has traveled from number 6 to number 2 in worldwide readymade garment industry (RMG). In another half decade, it is predicted Bangladesh will surpass the leader, China and become the king of his industry.

This sector employs nearly 4 million Bengali workers. The striking aspect of this billion dollar industry is that 90% or more of the labor force is women. Garments also account for 45% of Bangladesh’s industrial employment.

There is sufficient room for Bengali women to make their way to the top of this industry by trading their produces internationally. With women in a better position to manage dominant female employees better than male entrepreneurs and covering top to bottom of a garment company’s hierarchy, the chances of effective management, better productivity and profitable exporting drastically shoot up.

Fish and Seafood
Urbanization has become responsible for Bengalis seeking proteins in their waters. As industrialization takes over land, Bangladesh explores more of its underwater life for consumable and exportable produces. Shipping has since become one of the chief contributors to GDP.

The industry is opportune and profitable for women, as old techniques are still being used and poor, low-caste Bengalis are the workforce. However, this also marks a challenge for women as they will have to diminish obsolete measures, bring innovation, remove sexism and eliminate racial discrimination from the sector.

Jute and Jute Derivatives
Bengal is the largest contributor of the Jute. The country produces nearly two million tonnes of Jute a year. Bangladesh’s economy too, benefits heftily from Tossa Jute. Again, women and even children are a crucial part of jute’s stripping. Jute is bio-degradable and environment friendly. Additionally, jute also demands less attention.

Jute is demanded across the globe for use in sacks, twines, ropes and mats. High demand of jute and involvement of women makes jute a perfect commodity for women to export abroad for increased returns.

Crops and Agriculture
The country is heavily reliant on agricultural goods as they make up nearly 20% of its GDP. Bangladesh exports dozens of crops including rice, mango, tea, sugar and wheat. Due to lesser margin on agricultural products and lack of availability of a sound marketplace for hardworking farmers, foreign markets appear to be the most sensible option.

WIT Portal
Bangladesh is superfluous in resources. The nation’s overabundance has made it a dominating market leader in few sectors. But most of the profit goes to the wealthy investors and the middle/ lower-middle class barely gets enough to make their ends meet.

Moreover, Bangladeshi marketplace may exploit farmers and workers and underpay them. This is a distressing issue for Bengalis. But unknown to most workers and SMEs in Bangladesh, there is an alternative – WIT portal. ‘Women in trade portal’ is a chance to online and sell the product to any person, in any part of South-Asian region. Bigger marketplace gives women in international trades an opportunity to sell leather, seafood, jute, cement chemicals, glass, handicrafts and hundreds of other products at reasonable margins and expand the business without boundaries.

Conclusion
As more Bengali women hop onto bandwagon of international trade, Bangladesh attains stability in multitude of segments. Bengali women become empowered; they improve their lifestyle and their country takes a giant leap towards economic constancy.