Logistics and infrastructure are increasingly becoming important to maintain a country’s export growth and Bangladesh, which depends on its apparel exports significantly, for its economy and employment, is not an exception.

Highlighting the issues related to the same, a World Bank report launched recently maintained that Bangladesh can significantly boost export growth, maintain its position as a leading ready-made garments and textile producer, and create more jobs by making logistics more efficient, as per media reports.

The report, Moving Forward: Connectivity and Logistics to Sustain Bangladesh’s Success, underlined that the country needs to improve its transport and logistics systems to meet the needs of its growing economy and boost export growth.

“Bangladesh’s congested transportation and often unsophisticated logistics systems impose high costs to the economy,” stated Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan unveiling the report, which maintained that congestion on roads and seaports, high logistics cost, inadequate infrastructure, distorted logistics service markets and fragmented governance hamper manufacturing and freight, further eroding Bangladesh’s competitive edge, and putting its robust growth path at risk.

The report further underlined that improving Bangladesh’s logistics requires a system-wide approach based on greater coordination among all public institutions involved in logistics and with the private sector, increasing the effective capacity of core infrastructure, and removing distortions in logistics service markets to reduce costs and improve quality.

“There’s no doubt that reforms and investments for better transport and logistics will yield Bangladesh substantial economic benefits and strengthen its competitive advantage,” said Matias Herrera Dappe, Senior Economist at the World Bank and author of the report, adding, “But the solution to logistics is not just to invest more but to invest better, by focusing on the service gap, and creating the incentives for high quality and competitive logistics services.”