The government of Bangladesh is offering billions in cash incentives in the current fiscal yea 2025-2026 to boost exports—but for many small and mid-level manufacturers, the benefits remain just out of reach. Behind the promise of support lies a maze of syndicates, paperwork, and policies that unintentionally favor the few over the many.

Let’s look at what’s holding back exporters from getting the full benefit of these incentives.

Bottlenecks in Getting the Full Benefit from Export Cash Incentives

The ministry of finance has announced Tk 10 billion (around USD 830 million) in cash incentives to boost exports of selected commodities. This initiative continues the long-standing practice of offering financial support through Bangladesh Bank to encourage local exporters across 43 sectors. Most of these products come from RMG, agro-based and light industries.

While this kind of support is meant to help small and medium-sized manufacturers, several bottlenecks are stopping them from getting the full benefit—or the government from reaching its goal of stronger export performance.

1. The Syndicate Problem
   One of the biggest issues is syndication. A few large exporters often form syndicates to dominate exports and secure most of the cash incentives. Sometimes, they do this through trade associations, controlling their committees to maintain influence.

For example, The Business Standard reported on November 18, 2024, in an article titled “Export monopolies in peak season concern charcoal traders,” that syndicate-driven charcoal exports were causing shipment problems and blocking other traders who weren’t part of the charcoal exporters’ association.
This isn’t just limited to charcoal. Similar monopolies exist in other export sectors as well. Since Bangladesh Bank requires exporters to process incentive-related documents through certain associations, these groups gain the power to control who gets access to benefits—creating room for unfair practices.

2. Only for Manufacturers
   Another major obstacle is that only manufacturers are eligible for cash incentives. Exporters who aren’t directly involved in manufacturing are excluded.

This rule leaves out many potential contributors to export growth. There are hundreds of small manufacturers producing quality goods that could do well in global markets—especially if they received technical or financial support. But most of them aren’t aware of international business opportunities and never think beyond local markets.

Meanwhile, many trading companies have the knowledge and experience to manage international business but don’t own production facilities. Current policies don’t allow them to receive cash incentives, creating a big gap between the government’s goals and the reality of the business environment.

3. Complicated Paperwork
   The process of claiming cash incentives is often long and confusing. Only experienced or well-connected firms can handle the documentation, audits, and approvals needed from different authorities.

Sometimes, the audit firms themselves lack proper understanding of export operations or international transactions, which makes the process even more frustrating. Exporters have to collect approvals from associations, the Export Promotion Bureau, audit firms, banks, and other agencies—making it a time-consuming and discouraging experience.

4. Lack of Knowledge and Awareness
   A deeper issue is the lack of export-oriented knowledge and business culture. Many small manufacturers and entrepreneurs don’t have training in international marketing, communication, or trade compliance. They’re unaware of how to connect with global buyers, understand trends, or promote their products abroad.

This knowledge gap limits the country’s overall export potential, even with financial support available.

The Bottom Line

The government genuinely wants to promote exports—but policies and systems haven’t caught up with the practical challenges on the ground. Because of these issues, very few young entrepreneurs are entering the export business.

Even with large cash incentives on the table, the system feels too complicated and uneven for most small players to take advantage of. Unless these bottlenecks are addressed, the promise of cash incentives will remain out of reach for many of Bangladesh’s most capable and creative entrepreneurs.

Ahamed Ismail Hossain
MBA Graduate,
Western Illinois University
SCM Professional