Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Monday said the country’s export earnings most hopefully will be increased to $70 billion in the next year.

The government has formulated a series of import policies aiming to strengthen the position of the country for bringing mobility in export under competitive global trade, the minister said while responding to a question tabled by treasury bench lawmaker Morshed Alam of Noakhali-2 in parliament.

To promote the export trade, Tipu Munshi said the government has encouraged the establishment of labour intensive industries. Even the national export trophy 2018-19 has been provided to encourage the exporters.

The government has given importance to the service sector including information and communication technology, consultation service, construction and tourism for expansion of the export sector.

The export trade between Bangladesh and India also has increased significantly due to the SAFTA agreement signed among the Saarc countries.

The government has developed the Export Development Fund (EDF) to $7 billion aiming to facilitate procurement of raw materials for the exporters.