The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mashiur Rahaman

Plastic industry in Bangladesh carries vast business potential but some injurious government rules and policies are pulling back its growth, said plastic goods manufacturers and importers.

"The Plastic industry annual profit increased by 59 per cent in FY2006-07, reflects how potential this sector is," said President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) Muhammad Jasim Uddin.

But some recently imposed Government regulations have put us behind in competitive global market, Jasim Uddin added while talking to The New Nation.

According to him, present government has imposed some new rules and regulations on plastic raw materials import. Advance 25 per cent bank guarantee and labelling every imported item is such example, which have caused unnecessary import hazards and delayed deliveries.

"We believe our Government must have a positive intention behind imposing those but they should have considered the market condition before doing so. At least they should have consulted with the importers and manufacturers to evaluate the present situation," President of BPGMEA complained.

Unfortunately our government has not done so, and we the importers and manufacturers are facing immense technical difficulties in meeting its requirements as well as fulfilling market demands, he further added.

Thousands of containers, caring plastic raw materials are held at the Chittagong Seaport for several months because they don't contain stamps of "Not for Sale" on the product. It has not only caused us a great financial loss but has also wasted valuable production time, said Muhammad Shamim Ahmed, General Secretary BPGMEA while explaining their business hazards.

"We are export oriented companies and import raw materials on the basis of order from foreign buyers. When our imported raw materials are held for months, we fail to deliver orders on time. It earns a bad name for our business as well as harmful for the industry," he explained.

"We already have faced several order cancellation in the last couple of months for this delay. Our compotators are taking advantage of this situation and have already taken away many of our confirmed buyers," he added.

Mentioning the potential of plastic industries in Bangladesh, President BPGMEA informed, Bangladeshi plastic products are gaining rapid popularity in domestic as well as international markets. These plastic products have successfully entered into the US, EU, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and even China and Indian markets.

Moreover, plastic products worth Tk2,331.21 crore were exported in FY 2006-07. Among them, Tk1,059 crore was earned from manufactured item exports and Tk1,272 crore was earned from raw products export, he informed.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics, Tk38.36 crore was earned from plastic items in November 2007. It was Tk24.12 crore in the previous month, as recorded.

All this statistics reflects the tremendous business potential of plastic industries in Bangladesh; just we need supportive government initiatives, said President BPGMEA Jashim Uddin.

It is ironic that all such peculiar business restrictions on our plastic industries are imposed in such a time when our competitors face some kinds of restrictions or ban from the international consumer markets. For example, recent ban on Chinese toys in EU and USA Markets for containing harmful chemicals.

"Restrictions like these limits us from taking over the market, availing the chance. Similar practice was witnessed in terms of ban on India and Vietnam as well," he said.

According to him, our produced P.V.C pipe, P.V.C bags, polythene sheet, plastic hanger, synthetic ropes, plastic waste, belts, toys, automobile appliances, sacks, home appliances, electronic products and many other furnished products have great business potential in international markets. We have achieved significant foreign investments, both in joint venture and relocation of industries in Bangladesh.

To keep this tremendous growth on, we need the Bangladesh Government and EPB to encourage us, not to act like opponents, concluded President of BPGMEA Jashim Uddin.