Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the government would provide cash incentive for plastic products export in order to boost the sector.
Tofail Ahmed was addressing inaugural ceremony of the 10th International Plastic Fair as chief guest.
State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, among others, were also present.
Earlier, Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) President Jasim Uddin urged the government to provide cash incentive to the sector.
BPGMEA in collaboration with Chan Chao International has organised the four-day exhibition of plastic goods at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital.
The fair aims to showcase new plastic goods, attract international buyers and introduce local manufacturers to the latest technologies in the industry.
“Plastic goods export contributes to GDP. To make the sector modern and compliant, we will give cash and other supports to the exporters,” said commerce minister.
He said not only the plastic sector but also the non-traditional products will get cash incentive as the government has given importance on diversification of both products and market.
Tofail urged the plastic products exporters to prioritise problems and place them to the ministry.
“The problems will be discussed with the authorities concerned and take necessary steps.”
BPMEA president demanded the government provide cash incentive to the plastic goods exporters until restoration of GSP facility in the US. He said the cancellation of GSP has cast a negative impact on export.
He said the government should also give land to establish a plastic industry village.
According to him, such initiative would help make the industry compliant. He said the international buyers are now serious about compliance at every stage of production.
Jasim cited lacks of gas, availability of power connections and skilled manpower are the main problems now in the sector.
He sought permission for BPMEA to issue Utilisation Permission (UP) to import raw materials as the sector has set a target to earn $1bn by 2021 from export.
However, the sector people urged to government to develop a vocational training curriculum to create skill manpower for the industry.
Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed stress the need to put an end to the current political violence.
He said as plastic industry is a labour intensive sector and its development creates more employment opportunities, the government should give more attention on it.
At present, Bangladesh’s demand for plastic goods is around Tk20,000 crore and the local manufacturers can meet 90% of the demand.
The industry has witnessed over 20% growth in last few years. The global market size of the plastic goods is $590bn and increasing at a rate of 17%.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the county’s plastic export earnings have seen a 40% rise to $54m in the first half of the current fiscal year compared to same period of last fiscal year.
Bangladesh earned $85.7m exporting plastic goods in the last financial year, up from $84.5m in the previous year.
