Pran-RFL eyes $2bn exports by 2030: CEO Ahsan Khan Chowdhury

The Pran-RFL Group, the country's leading business conglomerate, has a target of exporting $1 billion worth of products by 2025 and $2 billion by 2030, announced the group's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ahsan Khan Chowdhury.

"We have reached 1.5 billion people and 145 countries on the globe so far, besides Bangladesh. We exported $532 million worth of products in fiscal year 2021-22," Ahsan Khan said at an event titled "25 years of Pran-RFL exports: Taking Bangladesh to the world" at a hotel in the capital on Sunday.

"Our group's products are now competing with well-known brands of different countries and are being placed in famous chain shops, a matter of great pride for the country," the CEO added.

Pran-RFL Group products are available in chain stores like Walmart, Carrefour, Loblaws, Aldi, Lidl, Mydin, Dollarama, and Tesco.

The group exports products of 7 out of 10 top and potential sectors in Bangladesh. At present, the group regularly exports agricultural goods, plastic products, RMG, footwear, light engineering, chemical products, and furniture, to different parts of the world. 

"Apart from creating the highest employment in the private sector of Bangladesh, Pran-RFL is playing a major role in diversifying the country's exports," the CEO said, adding that "spreading Pran-RFL products across the globe is one of the main goals of the group. We want to export all types of products we manufacture and want to market them to consumers in the country's market as well."

"If there are any obstacles, we plan to manufacture products in at least 4-5 places around the world, subject to approval from the government," he said.

Speaking about the means to achieve the ambitious export target, he said, "We need to further grow and increase production. We are also trying to raise capital from foreign development partners and companies."

The Pran-RFL group has not been able to fully exploit opportunities born of global crises like Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. It hasn't been able to export more due to various reasons, including lack of freight services on particular routes, abnormal increases in freight costs, and insufficient containers, informed Ahsan Khan.

"I am drawing the attention of the government to solve these problems. If these problems are solved, the export of the country's products will increase," he said.

Pointing out that the current government has set an export target of $80 billion by 2024, the CEO of Pran-RFL Group said the export sector must be diversified to attain that goal.

To increase exports, the creation of funds for country branding and product branding, funding support for participation in trade events in different countries, the introduction of international-standard testing labs, export insurance, and good agricultural practices will play an effective role, stressed Ahsan Khan Chowdhury in his speech.