CHITTAGONG, June 9: Export of light engineering (LE) products marked a 13.18 per cent rise in first 10 months of the outgoing fiscal year (FY) compared to the same period of the last fiscal as Bangladesh exported LE products worth US$ 24,654.39 million until April 2014.
In the FY 2012-13 the export earning from the sector stood at $ 27,027.36 million at the export growth rate of 11.22 per cent over the previous FY. In FY 2011-12 the export earning from LE products was worth $ 24,301.90 million while the same in the FY 2010-11 was $ 22,928.22 million.
The main products are engineering items, iron steel, copper wire, stainless steel wire, engineering equipment, electric goods, bicycle and others, sources at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said.
Bicycle is one of the major LE products exported to Spain, Italy, the UK, France and India from two industries, each in Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) and Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) and another in Dhaka, said Alamgir Siddiquee, director of EPB in Chittagong.
Stainless steel wire marked a 270.99 per cent rise in export over the previous period. Sources at the EPB said a number of potential export quality LE products are going to the foreign markets on direct and sub-contracting means. These are spare parts of paper and cement mills, bicycle, fancy light fittings, construction equipment, battery, voltage stabilizer, iron chain, cast ion articles, carbon rod, automobile spares, electronics items, stainless steel wire, educational materials like pen, pencil, instrument box, set square, marker, sign pen, etc.
Experts said the light engineering sector (LES) draws the least attention of the policymakers although it has emerged as a potential cost-cutting one by producing at least 50 per cent substitutes of imported items in the country.
"This important sub-sector is now providing critical support to industrial, agricultural and construction sectors by manufacturing a wide range of spare parts, castings, moulds and dices, oil and gas pipeline fittings and light machinery, as well as repairing of those items," said AKM Mokbul Hossain Khan, chief instructor and head of the department of Power Engineering at Chittagong Polytechnic Institute in the city's Nasirabad area.
He said the LES is the mother of all sectors because it provides back-up support to cement, paper, jute, textiles, sugar, food processing, railway, shipping, garments, capital machinery, etc.
A recent study conducted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and Norwegian government shows that the LES has created employment for 600,000 people involved in 50,000 micro enterprises and 10,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The LE enterprises are scattered in different areas and clusters apart from those in the BSCIC (Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation). The Dholaikhal Dhaka LE cluster comprises 5,000 engineering units.
Due to discharge of solid waste these engineering firms belong to the green category as per country's environmental regulations. Green category firms are, by and large, free from environmental hazards.
It is believed that Bangladesh can benefit a lot if the LE products, currently imported by the major industries, are manufactured within the country. The growth of LE enterprises requires an enabling policy environment and infrastructural support, Mr Khan said.
The government of Bangladesh declared the LES as one of the most priority sectors in the export policy of 2009-2012. Although the country's constitution authorises only the parliament to levy any taxes, it does not have any supporting office with research capabilities to draft and formulate the detailed policies which has to be done for thousands of items, he said.
13pc rise in LE product exports in 10 months
Pankaj Dastider | Published: June 10, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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