Local agricultural technology and machinery manufacturers want the government to cut tax and duties on import of spare parts and raw materials used in the industry.
They said while the import of complete agro-machinery is duty-free, the local manufacturers have to pay 30-40% tax on import of raw materials.
On the sidelines of the fourth Agro Bangladesh Expo in the city yesterday, Dhaka Tribune talked to some local producers when they made such remarks.
They said the exemption would help promote the industry as well as widen the use of modern technology in farming.
If the sector receives government support, the country can achieve self-reliance in agro machinery supply, they stressed.
According to a study of Bangladesh Agriculture University, the local market size of agricultural machinery including small, medium and heavy was Tk9,500 crore in 2012.
The insiders said the market size has now increased to roughly Tk12,500 core, growing at 10-15% annually over the past couple of years.
“Complete agro technological products are being imported with no duty at all, but we, the local producers, need to pay 30-40% duty on the import of spare parts and raw materials,” said Alimul Ahsan Chowdhury, managing director of Alim Industries Limited.
At present, the annual local demand of spare parts for agri-machinery industry is now around Tk2,000 crore, he said.
“If the government provides cash incentives to local manufacturers, it will help to boost our industry,” said Alimul.
He suggested the government buy some products from local industry and also lower value-added tax, advance income tax and other taxes.
According to him, the government should involve private sector with research programmes to achieve technological development.
Although Bangladesh is now able to meet 100% local demand of post-harvest machinery and 20% of power trailers, the government still remains fully dependent on import, Alimul said.
He said farmers are now increasingly introducing modern technologies in harvesting, planting and other processing as the labour cost has increased manifold.
MD Waliullah, owner of Janata Engineering, said about 20% of the country’s farmers are using modern technology in cultivation.
Dr Akter Hossain, manager of ACI Seeds, said only 7% of farmers here use advanced technology in cultivation while some others have started using such technology partially.
“The farmers hesitate to adopt modern technology as they lack related knowledge and have superstitious beliefs,” Hossain said.
He suggested the government train and encourage farmers to introduce modern way of farming.