Handloom product makers also demanded 25 percent cash incentives on exports for the sector's development, which is the second largest employment generating-sector after agriculture.

"If the government gives adequate supports we will be able to earn Tk 500 crore a year by exporting handloom products," said Azadul Haq, managing director of Palli Enterprise Development Ltd, a handloom producer.

Haq was speaking at a seminar styled 'Handloom Industry of Bangladesh and It's Importance in Our National Economy' organised by Palli Enterprise Development Ltd in Dhaka.

He sought government policy for handloom products' growth in terms of production and marketing.

Commerce Secretary Suhel Ahmed echoed the manufacturers' demand and said the government should formulate a separate policy for the sector.

The commerce secretary said steps will be taken to include handloom products in the Post MFA Action Programme (PMFAAP), which covers six areas.

He also stressed the need for setting up of a permanent design centre to sharpen the sector's competitiveness.

According to Bangladesh Institute of Development of Studies (BIDS), handloom sector meets 77 percent of the total cloth demand of Bangladesh.

Golam Ahsan, managing director of Unity Fabric Industries Ltd, informed the seminar that the sector's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 15 percent of the entire manufacturing sector.

According to available statistics, there are 3.1 lakh handlooms in the country, which produce around 150 crore yards of cloth every year by engaging some 10 lakh weavers.

Rabiul Hassan, managing director of Sonali Bank, Sirajul Islam, additional secretary of the ministry of commerce and former chairman of Bangladesh Handloom Board, and Nancy Wimmer, a German consultant, also spoke at the seminar.