Sustaining the growth of bicycle industry

Isn't it a trifle surprising that Bangladesh, despite being a deltaic topography crisscrossed by rivers and canals, had a long tradition of pedalling bicycles among a large section of its people - not for pleasure and fun, but for practical purposes seeking to use the two wheelers as a convenient means of transport, even in remote areas? There were times, not far behind, when bicycles were a very popular mode of transport in the country's entire northern region and parts of the eastern region.
With the improvement of roads and overall communication infrastructure since the past decades, it was highly likely that more and more people, especially the younger population, would prefer to ride bicycles for attending their functional needs. But this has not happened, and finding a suitable answer to it is not easy.
Of late, however, bicycle riders have been increasing in the country, to the extent that the surge in bicycle sales in local markets tend to suggest the growth trend as highly promising alongside expansion of bicycle manufacturing. The market is fast growing, and the share of locally produced bicycle is increasing. According to information made available by the bicycle merchants association, presently there are more than 200 retail bicycle outlets across the country.
Bulk of the stuff is procured in CKD (completely knocked down) condition along with spare parts from importers.
There are only a handful of local manufacturing plants in the country, but the growing demand and trends of increased sales have motivated the plant owners to plan their production targets at much higher levels than they had been doing in the past years. To meet the increasing demands, new entrepreneurs are also set to go for bicycle manufacturing in a big way to cater to both domestic and overseas markets.
It has been reported in the media that over the recent years there has been an increase of 30-40 per cent in sales, and annual consumption is estimated at half a million pieces. A major segment of the high and middle-end bicycles is import-dependent. A number of reputed manufacturing groups have been producing quality bicycles for local markets as well as for exports to some target markets in Europe. Concerned quarters are of the opinion that due to discrepancies in the duty structure of spares and imported bicycles, this particular manufacturing sector is not getting the right boost it deserves in the wake of the increased demand both at home and abroad.
Prospects of exporting are a great stimulus for the manufacturers who, it has been reported, are quite upbeat about a remarkably increased share in global bicycle exports.
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) sources say that during the last financial year (2012-13) the country fetched $ 105 million from bicycle exports, mostly to the European markets. This year, the trend so far is a little higher compared to that of the corresponding period of the last fiscal, and by year end the difference may be much higher.
The European Union's statistical wing, Eurostat, has furnished a comprehensive picture of the expansion of Bangladesh's bicycle sector in the European markets. It says, Bangladesh has achieved a major breakthrough in exports to the European markets since 2010. It was in that year that Bangladesh's export of bicycles to Europe, measured in terms of ranking, rose to the fifth position from the tenth in the preceding year. Bangladesh has been able to retain the position till the last fiscal. Chances that the situation would not deteriorate in the current fiscal do not seem ambitious, as more and more competitors are trying to carve out a niche in the ever-expanding market. Forecasts suggest a whooping growth in the global bicycle market in the years to come.
With the rise in exports coupled with growing domestic consumption, further expansion of this potential sector needs to be planned in a sustainable manner. Government patronage by way of promotional support in marketing, removal of lack of harmony in duty structure, if any, and necessary fiscal incentives need to be firmed up in consultation with the stakeholders.
Given the country's sound manufacturing base supported by semi-skilled and skilled workforce in the sector, it is important that this emerging sector received the attention it deserves.
wasiahmed.bd@hotmail.com