Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir has called for concerted initiatives to realise the immense export potential of jewellery industry, as Bangladesh Jewellers’ Association (BAJUS) targets earning $7 billion from gold and diamond jewellery exports by 2030-31.
Addressing “BAJUS Jewellery Fashion Carnival 2026” in the capital on Saturday night, the minister emphasised the critical need for policy support, investment, and modernisation to transform the jewellery trade into a highly competitive, export-oriented sector capable of boosting the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
He assured the industry that the government remains committed to fostering a favourable business environment and supporting sectors with the capacity to contribute significantly to the national economy.
In his written speech read at the event, BAJUS President Enamul Haque Khan outlined the association’s ambition to establish the jewellery sector as the nation’s second-largest foreign exchange earner by 2030-31.
However, he identified policy ambiguity as a primary hurdle to the industry’s development, calling for a non-discriminatory policy framework to facilitate gold imports.
According to BAJUS, simplifying gold imports could slash domestic jewellery prices by at least Tk30,000 per bhori. The association further estimated that implementing the proposed “Gold Policy-2018 (Amended)-2026” could yield between Tk2,000 crore and Tk2,500 crore in annual government revenue.
Additionally, BAJUS proposed allowing undisclosed gold to be declared in exchange for a one-time fee, a measure projected to raise an extra Tk500 crore to Tk 700 crore in revenue while facilitating the creation of a comprehensive digital database of the nation’s gold stock.
To drive export readiness, BAJUS has set an ambitious target of establishing 500 new modern jewellery factories by 2030. This expansion is expected to generate direct employment for 50,000 people and indirect employment for another 100,000.
To facilitate this, the association has requested 10 bighas of land in Dhaka to establish a specialised economic zone named “Swarnapalli,” which would include a dedicated diamond processing unit.
BAJUS also urged the government to update 2006 Rough Diamond Import-Export (Control) Rules and reduce additional duties on diamond imports to align with neighbouring countries, which would stimulate the local diamond processing trade.
The association projects that with the necessary policy reforms, Bangladesh could export approximately $2 billion worth of diamond jewellery annually by 2031.
The carnival was attended by Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, former National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, diplomats, and representatives from various government agencies.
Currently, around 2.8 million people rely on the jewellery sector directly and indirectly, representing some 40,000 jewellery businesses and four lakh artisans. The association expressed its gratitude to the government for granting tax and VAT concessions to the sector in the national budget for the fiscal year 2026-27, while pressing for the speedy implementation of further policy reforms.
