They said as per the deal, all countries including Bangladesh have already prepared their sensitive lists of products to protect their own industries. But local entrepreneurs do not have details of negative lists of other countries, they said.

They also urged the government to take initiative to disseminate detail information on the benefit of Safta (South Asia Free Trade Area) so that they can export their products to other six south Asian nations from the very beginning.

They were speaking at a roundtable titled 'Bangladesh in SAFTA, Prospects and Challenges' in Dhaka. Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) organised the seminar.

"We have to know the advantages of Safta. Ministry of commerce can provide the entrepreneurs with information on Safta," said Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President M A Momen.

"We are all concerned about Safta. But we have no clear ideas about the immediate and delayed benefits of the pact," said Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Footwear Ltd.

He also said Bangladesh and Indian businessmen are facing visa problems, which will be one of the major barriers to trade under Safta.

Md Abdul Karim, secretary of commerce ministry, former commerce secretaries Syed Alamgir Farrouk Chowdhury and Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury and Export Promotion Bureau Vice-chairman Mir Shahabuddin Mohammad also spoke. Shishir K Deb, chief executive officer of BFTI, and Mostafa Abid Khan of Bangladesh Tariff Commission presented keynote papers on Safta implementation and challenges.

Expressing his doubt about Safta implementation, Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury said it is very unfortunate that businesspeople have a little knowledge about trade deals that government have signed with many countries.

Alamgir Faruk Chowdhury said unless non-tariff barriers are removed, the tariff reduction will bring little benefits.

The commerce secretary admitted that businesses lack adequate information on Safta.

He said the businesses have to know some major aspects of Safta like negative lists, duty structure and customs procedure.

He urged the stakeholders to use the trade related websites of International Trade Center (ITC) that EPB launched in Dhaka recently.

Under the Safta, India can be the big trade partner of Bangladesh, said the BFTI CEO. He said Bangladeshi products have a huge demand in Indian market. But due to non-tariff barriers such export potential is yet to be tapped, he added.

In his paper, Mostafa Abid also mentioned Bangladeshi products have demand in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.