"To face the global challenge in the export sector and to increase the country's export, the government has planned to expand its export basket", Khosru told the first meeting of the Jatiya Sangsad Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce.

"Moreover, we have to find new markets for quality goods,"he said.

In a report placed at the meeting, the commerce minister said 75 per cent of the country's export earnings comes from readymade garments and six per cent from frozen shrimp exports.

He mentioned that the export target for the current fiscal is $7,439 million, which is 13.60 per cent higher than last year's.

The minister said besides its goat-rearing programme to eliminate poverty at the grassroots level, the government also plans to export mutton.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has already sent letters to 45 countries proposing to export mutton and 32 have responded positively. For this, modern slaughter houses will be set up in Dhaka and Chittagong, he said.

The meeting also discussed reforms in some directorates and wings of the commerce ministry, including retrenchment of surplus manpower.

It recommended slashing the number of employees at the import and export office to 88 from the present 275. It noted that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh had reduced the number of employees to 306 from 541 under a golden handshake programme.

The ministry report suggested contractual appointments to 50 per cent posts at the Tariff Commission, including the post of chairman, and taking all of them from outside the government.

The meeting was informed that 67 out of 226 posts in the commerce ministry were now lying vacant.

Committee Chairman Redwan Ahmed presided over the meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. It was attended by Mohammad Yunus, Shamsuddin Ahmed Esak, Mohammad Karim Uddin Bharosa, M Naser Rahman and Mojibur Rahman Manju..

Advisor to the commerce ministry Barkat Ullah Bhulu also attended the meeting.