Bangladesh sets $7 billion jewellery export target for 2030-31

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir of Bangladesh called for concerted initiatives to realise the huge export potential of Bangladesh’s jewellery industry, as the Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS) set a target of earning US$7 billion from gold and diamond jewellery exports by 2030-31.

Muktadir emphasised the need for policy support, investment and modernisation of the jewellery industry to make it a competitive export-oriented sector and help increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The minister said the government is committed to creating a favourable business environment and supporting sectors with the potential to contribute significantly to the national economy.

BAJUS President Enamul Haque Khan, said the association wants to transform the jewellery sector into the country’s second-largest foreign exchange-earning sector by 2030-31. He said policy ambiguity is a major obstacle to the industry’s development and called for facilitating gold imports through a non-discriminatory policy framework.

According to BAJUS, easier gold imports could reduce the price of jewellery in the domestic market by at least Tk 30,000 per bhori. The association said implementing the proposed ‘Gold Policy-2018 (Amended)-2026’ could generate Tk 2,000-2,500 crore in annual government revenue from the sector.

BAJUS has set a target of establishing 500 new modern jewellery factories by 2030 to make the industry export-oriented. The proposed factories are expected to create 50,000 direct jobs and another 100,000 indirect jobs.

BAJUS said around 2.8 million people are directly and indirectly dependent on the jewellery sector, which represents around 40,000 jewellery businesses and four lakh artisans. The association also thanked the government for providing tax and VAT concessions to the jewellery sector in the national budget for fiscal year 2026-27 and urged speedy implementation of further policy reforms.