Electrical products export soars 92pc

Bangladesh's exports of electrical products are picking up as shipments grew 92 per cent in nine months of the current financial year, the Export Promotion Bureau said. Bangladesh exported electric goods such as bako-light products, cables, bulbs, fan, and refrigerators worth US$27 million in July-March period of 2011 fiscal, up from $14.07 million in the same period of 2010 fiscal, data released by Bureau showed. Shipments could be increased by many folds if import duty on raw materials is lowered, Md. Kamal Hossain Mridul, a leading manufacturer of bako-light products, said. According to EPB data, Bangladesh shipped electrical and electronics products worth $26.11 million in 2010 fiscal, although this year's target is $41.78 million. He said local consumers would also get the chance to bargain over imported electrical and electronic products if domestic production costs go down. Mr. Mridul said his company imports raw materials like fenolic molding powder and urea molding powder to manufacture bako-light products including both white and dark switch sockets, multi-cod, and holders etc. To boost production, he urged the authorities to slash import duty on raw materials from 12 per cent to 5.0 per cent. He demanded setting up a counselling cell at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) for promoting Bangladeshi electric products. "Tax reduction will surely decrease our production cost, which would make many investors interested and at the same time the industry would be able to compete with the foreign products," he added. Mizanur Rahman, a director of Walton Group, told the FE that his firm alone would be able to export $100 million by 2012. Mr. Rahman, general secretary of Bangladesh Refrigerator Manufacturers Association, the country can now produce some 1.5 million refrigerators, although demand is 0.6 million and export is increasing. Mr. Rahman also proposed an increase in supplementary duty on the electric products in which the country is now self-sufficient. "It would help the local manufacturers to stop flooding of foreign products in the local market and would increase the brand image of Bangladesh," he added. Managing director of a leading electrical fan producing company told the FE that they need raw materials including metapoli pripline plime (MPP), castor oil, aluminium shit, aluminium can, lead wire etc to make a fan. "The production cost would be decreased significantly if the import duty is reduced," he said. He said if the government reduces the import duty and increases the supplementary duty on finished electric products, it would bring down the entry of foreign items. He said over 100 companies are involved in fan manufacturing, where 25,000 fans are produced per day. "We are now exporting after meeting the local demand," he added.