Imported umbrellas, mostly from China, are still dominating the Bangladesh market as local industry is falling behind for weak infrastructure and lack of branding, importers have said.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) data, in the fiscal year 2018-19 Bangladesh imported 1,329.43 tons of umbrella and raw materials worth Tk20.84 crore, which was 3,548.78 tonnes worth Tk61.21 crore in the fiscal year 2017-18. Per ton of umbrellas consists of 25,000 to 30,000 pieces.
An importer has said they pay 25% customs duty (CD), 15% value added tax (VAT), 5% advance income tax (AIT), 3% (RD), 5% advanced trade VAT (ATV), all amounting to 60.73% tax incidence on umbrella imports.
Siraj Uddin, importer and owner of Sanuware Umbrella, has told Dhaka tribune: “High quality Chinese folding umbrella has a huge demand here. People are always opting for the Chinese umbrella, while a few years ago Japanese and Indian umbrellas would dominate the market."
“However, we are expecting good business this rainy season, although the demand for umbrellas remains round the year. Till now, orders from retailers are good despite financial hardship in this monsoon,” Siraj says with a smile on his face.
The local manufacturer cannot meet the market demand, Sharif Umbrella Marketing Manager Muazzem Hossain points out, adding that to cater to the growing demand, umbrellas are being imported mainly from China.
"Besides manufacturing, Sharif Umbrella imports around three lakh umbrellas a year," he says.
"The local umbrella industry started to take off in the 1980s," Sharif Umbrella CEO Sayed Manik says, calling that their company used to have then nearly 450,000 workers, which now came down to 350-400 as imported umbrellas have grabbed the lion's share of the market.
Sharif imports clothing used for manufacturing umbrella from Taiwan, he informs.
“We are proud to have been able to manufacture umbrellas with 'made in Bangladesh' written on them. But the customers feel the other way round. They feel proud to use foreign products, which negatively impacts this industry,” Sayed Manik mentions.
Of the total market share of umbrella, 60% is now held by China and other countries while in many cases dishonest traders use the tag ‘Made in China’ despite that they are locally manufactured, he says.
“Locally manufactured umbrella often cannot compete with the imported ones as many importers evade import-level taxes and market those at lower prices,” he points out, urging the government to stop imports to encourage local manufacturers.
The rainy season accounts for 70% of total yearly sale, while of the rest, 20% sale takes place in summer and 10% in winter, industry people have said.
In a recent visit to different retail markets including Chawkbazar, Sadar Road, Notun Bazar, Bustand Bangla Bazar in the capital, workers were found busy making umbrellas. The sellers and buyers were also seen busy.
But Chinese umbrellas Angels and BMW have been found to be the most selling brands, with their prices ranging from Tk80 to Tk1,500. Prices of local umbrella range between Tk200 and Tk250.
Bashar Ahmed, proprietor of Ahmed Umbrella, says: “We sell local umbrella between Tk200 and Tk300 but because of better quality, low price, and attractive design and colors, the buyers opt for Chinese umbrella.”
Currently, there are over 125 umbrella factories in Chawkbazar and its surrounding areas, while clothes of umbrella are sourced from Islampur and Shyampur.
Traders say prices of the umbrella depend on quality of clothes.
Nowrin Jahan, a student of Holly Cross School and College, who came to buy an umbrella, said: "It has been raining for the last few days. We cannot attend classes so I bought an umbrella for Tk250.”
Sujon Mulla, who repairs umbrellas, said, "We repair umbrellas in residential areas and earn on an average Tk500 to Tk1,000 per day."
Need for branding
Shankar, Sharif, Atlas and Sanuware are major local brands of umbrella.
Shanker Umbrella Marketing Manger Sumon Das said: “Actually, we are selling Shankar umbrellas using the traditional name. We also sell the Chinese umbrellas, which are also popular."
Like any industry, the local umbrella industry lacks brand identity and weak infrastructure.
Hafiz Uddin, president of Chawkbazar Market Association, said: “A good brand name is an effective marketing tool for making any product popular. We have a serious lacking here."
He, however, observed that there was no guarantee that branding would always result in increased sales.
“The government should take step for roper banding and investment in infrastructure to promote local industry," he demanded