A rampant black market for illegally imported shaving blades is depriving Bangladesh's state coffers through massive tax evasion.
This unchecked illegal influx is severely threatening compliant domestic manufacturers, such as Sharp Blade, Champion Blade, Vidyut, and Matador, who legally import raw materials, pay significant taxes and VAT, and generate local jobs.
These promising local businesses are now facing an existential crisis due to unfair competition from cheap, tax-evading contraband that floods the retail and wholesale markets.
The crisis escalated rapidly after multinational giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) officially terminated its Gillette India distribution agreement in Bangladesh on December 31, 2024.
Despite the complete absence of legal import channels for over a year, organized syndicates continue to saturate the domestic market with illegal Gillette shaving blades.
Recent law enforcement operations highlight the staggering scale of this underground network.
It was reported in media on April 26 last year that the Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized Tk7.40 crore worth of smuggled goods, heavily featuring Gillette shaving blades, in Sylhet.
This was followed by subsequent BGB and Army seizures of contraband worth Tk6 crore on July 18, 2025, and Tk4.63 crore on August 27, 2025, across the Sylhet border areas.
On October 23, 2025, media reports further revealed that Customs officials at Benapole Land Port intercepted 1.1 million shaving blades worth Tk1 crore hidden under a false "steel" declaration.
Furthermore, on November 19, 2025, smugglers were caught utilizing GPS trackers and concealing Tk3.5 crore worth of Indian goods beneath stones in Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj.