Plastic exports maintain rising trend

Export of plastic products has risen significantly in the 2018–19 financial year (July-November) thanks to the availability of raw materials at a cheaper rate, production of quality products, a robust government policy framework, enhanced manufacturing efficiency, and export of products to new and untapped countries, say industry insiders.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), a growth rate of 30.07 per cent, with net export earnings of USD 48.75 million, was achieved in FY2018–19 (July-November) compared to USD 37.48 million in FY2017–18 (July-November).

Jashim Uddin, presdient of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers’ and Exporters' Association (BPGMEA), told The Independent that the US and European countries have increased their purschase of plastic products from Bangladesh. As a new market, Bangladesh has started exporting plastic products to Germany.     

About export factories, BPGMEA president Jashim Uddin said: “To meet the overseas demand, most of the export factories are increasing their resective capacities. We have been exporting reasonable quantities of film plastic, garment accessories made of plastic and household plastic items to many countries around the world.”

Shamim Ahmed, former president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (BPGMEA), explained the reason behind the steady growth, saying India had started taking recycled PET Flakes, which earlier China used to take from Bangladesh.

PET is used as a raw material for making packaging materials such as bottles and containers for packaging a wide range of food products and other consumer goods.

Moreover, the export of four types of products, such as plastic hangers, plastic toys, PP-woven polypropylene bags, and fax fibre bags, are  increasing each year, he said.

Citing another reason, Shamim Ahmed said that the price of plastic raw materials is stable and it is promoting the export growth.

He also said that China was the prime plastic manufacturing country in the world. As it has started moving towards high-tech industries, there’s massive opportunity for Bangladeshi exporters to increase the global market share, he added.

At present, Bangladesh mostly exports plastic products to the US, Canada and European countries, said Ahmed.

When asked, the former BPGMEA president said: “China used to import plastic wastes from us for further processing, but it has stopped doing so. The country is closing down plastic waste processing plants because of environmental pollution.”

"Plastic wastes have seen a negative growth of -7.39 per cent. India is importing plastic wastes from us, but the quantity is very small," he added.

Giasuddin Ahmed, senior vice-president of the BPGMEA, told The Independent: “We import raw materials. The import price of raw materials has decreased and that’s another reason behind the positive export growth. We used to import raw materials at USD 1,500-1,600 per tonne. This has come down to USD 1,200-1,300 per tonne.”

Ahmed is also the chairman of Thai Poly Shawn (BD) Ltd.         

“We export plastic bags to countries like Poland, the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, China, India, Nepal, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong and New Zealand. We produce 400–450 tonnes of plastic products per day,” he said.    

He also also said the government was offering a 10 per cent cash incentive on the export of plastic products.

It will take steps to ensure the progress of the country's plastic industry, he added.

According to the the BPGMEA, Bangladesh imports more than 1,55,000 metric tonnes of raw plastic materials each year, with the figure continuously growing.

“There are 5,000 small, medium and large plastic goods manufacturing units. The number was around 3,000 units a couple of years back,” said Shamim Ahmed.

Some 1.2 million people are engaged in this sector, he added.

According to the BPGMEA, the plastic industry contributes around USD 900 million to the garments accessories market. Garments accessories and allied products, such as hangers, buttons, clips, collarbones and collar chips, are supplied by local plastic suppliers.

Shamim Ahmed suggested that proper policy support and further financial incentives could lead to a three-fold increase in this sector’s export earnings in the next couple of years.

The local plastic market was growing as well, and was approximately worth Tk. 25,000 crore, he said.

BK

Plastic exports maintain rising trend

Export of plastic products has risen significantly in the 201819 financial year (July-November) thanks to the availability of raw materials at a cheaper rate, production of quality products, a robust government policy framework, enhanced manufacturing efficiency, and export of products to new and untapped countries, say industry insiders. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), a growth rate of 30.07 per cent, with net export earnings of USD 48.75 million, was achieved in FY201819 (July-November) compared to USD 37.48 million in FY201718 (July-November). Jashim Uddin, presdient of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), told The Independent that the US and European countries have increased their purschase of plastic products from Bangladesh. As a new market, Bangladesh has started exporting plastic products to Germany. About export factories, BPGMEA president Jashim Uddin said: To meet the overseas demand, most of the export factories are increasing their resective capacities. We have been exporting reasonable quantities of film plastic, garment accessories made of plastic and household plastic items to many countries around the world. Shamim Ahmed, former president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), explained the reason behind the steady growth, saying India had started taking recycled PET Flakes, which earlier China used to take from Bangladesh. PET is used as a raw material for making packaging materials such as bottles and containers for packaging a wide range of food products and other consumer goods. Moreover, the export of four types of products, such as plastic hangers, plastic toys, PP-woven polypropylene bags, and fax fibre bags, are increasing each year, he said. Citing another reason, Shamim Ahmed said that the price of plastic raw materials is stable and it is promoting the export growth. He also said that China was the prime plastic manufacturing country in the world. As it has started moving towards high-tech industries, theres massive opportunity for Bangladeshi exporters to increase the global market share, he added. At present, Bangladesh mostly exports plastic products to the US, Canada and European countries, said Ahmed. When asked, the former BPGMEA president said: China used to import plastic wastes from us for further processing, but it has stopped doing so. The country is closing down plastic waste processing plants because of environmental pollution. Plastic wastes have seen a negative growth of -7.39 per cent. India is importing plastic wastes from us, but the quantity is very small, he added. Giasuddin Ahmed, senior vice-president of the BPGMEA, told The Independent: We import raw materials. The import price of raw materials has decreased and thats another reason behind the positive export growth. We used to import raw materials at USD 1,500-1,600 per tonne. This has come down to USD 1,200-1,300 per tonne. Ahmed is also the chairman of Thai Poly Shawn (BD) Ltd. We export plastic bags to countries like Poland, the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, China, India, Nepal, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong and New Zealand. We produce 400450 tonnes of plastic products per day, he said. He also also said the government was offering a 10 per cent cash incentive on the export of plastic products. It will take steps to ensure the progress of the countrys plastic industry, he added. According to the the BPGMEA, Bangladesh imports more than 1,55,000 metric tonnes of raw plastic materials each year, with the figure continuously growing. There are 5,000 small, medium and large plastic goods manufacturing units. The number was around 3,000 units a couple of years back, said Shamim Ahmed. Some 1.2 million people are engaged in this sector, he added. According to the BPGMEA, the plastic industry contributes around USD 900 million to the garments accessories market. Garments accessories and allied products, such as hangers, buttons, clips, collarbones and collar chips, are supplied by local plastic suppliers. Shamim Ahmed suggested that proper policy support and further financial incentives could lead to a three-fold increase in this sectors export earnings in the next couple of years. The local plastic market was growing as well, and was approximately worth Tk. 25,000 crore, he said. BK