DHAKA, Feb 05, 2026 (BSS) - PKSF will increase financing and other forms of support to promote Bangladeshi handicrafts in the nearly one-trillion-dollar global export market. 

At the same time, necessary initiatives will be taken to expand the domestic market, said a press release. 

This was stated today by PKSF Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan during a visit to an export-oriented handicraft enterprise titled ‘Taranga’ in Mirpur, Dhaka. He was accompanied, among others, by PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader, Deputy General Manager AKM Faizul Haque and Taranga’s Chief Executive Officer Kohinoor Yeasmin.

Zakir Ahmed Khan said, “Handicrafts are a promising sector for Bangladesh. To transform this sector into an organized, export-oriented, and sustainable one, challenges such as financing constraints, shortage of skilled manpower, infrastructural inadequacies, and weak branding must be overcome. PKSF will implement specialized programs to address these issues.”

Md Fazlul Kader said, “Women engaged in the handicrafts sector do not incur displacement costs. They produce high-quality exportable products while staying in their own localities and bring prosperity to their families through better earnings. With the aim of playing a significant role in reaching the milestone of $1 billion in handicraft exports from Bangladesh, we are taking initiatives to increase appropriate financing alongside technical support for the sector.”

Taranga’s handicraft activities—supported by PKSF—have generated direct employment for around 32,000 women. More than 40 percent of the total sales revenue from products—made using natural materials such as jute, water hyacinth, hogla leaves, palm fibber, banana fibber, bamboo, cane, and natural dyes—is spent on workers’ wages. Operated on the principles of ‘fair trade’, Taranga exports a wide range of products to 50 countries worldwide.

The annual size of Bangladesh’s domestic handicrafts market is estimated at TK 100–150 billion. In 2024, the global handicrafts market was valued at approximately $1.1 trillion. 

However, Bangladesh’s share in this vast market remains negligible. In fiscal year 2022–23, Bangladesh exported handicrafts worth $29.75 million. The main buyers of Bangladeshi handicraft products are the United States, and the European and the Middle Eastern countries.