Adhesive making industry growing at 20pc rate

Ismail Hossain | Published: March 07, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Adhesive manufacturing industry in the country has been growing at a 20 per cent rate annually over the last few years thanks to the expansion of shoe, plywood, furniture, packaging and many other gum-consuming industries in the country.
"The size of the industry has been doubled from Tk 1.5 billion to Tk 3.0 billion in five years only," president of Bangladesh Adhesive Manufacturers Association (BAMA) T K Chakrabarty told the FE.
Some of the leading business conglomerates including Berger Paints, Pran Group and Partex Group have joined 100 per cent raw materials import-based industry in last two years noticing the prospect, according to the association.
The association, established six years back, now has 36 members starting from handful ones only. T K Chakrabarty thinks the industry will be bigger as the country's economy grows bigger day by day. But there will not be any leapfrog increase.
"The adhesive industry will grow at this rate, if the economy grows at this pace for next 20 years," he said.
He said the highest prospects for the adhesive industry depends on the growth of shoe, leather manufacturing, furniture, plywood, packaging, automobile, textile etc. However, there are some constraints for the industry too. BAMA General Secretary Atiqul Islam demanded reduction of duties on import of raw materials in order to boost up the local adhesive industry.
He believes the adhesive industry would flourish in the country if the government cuts down the import duty on its raw materials. The government imposed 10 per cent duty on import of raw materials for producing local glue.
Atiqul Islam said the local adhesive manufacturers have to import raw materials paying 10 per cent import duty whereas the importers of finished adhesive pay the same per cent of import duties, which is quite unfair.
Because of the same level of import duties on both raw materials and finished adhesive, he claimed that some unscrupulous businessmen directly import finished adhesive to evade tax.
He urged the government to reduce import duty on raw materials to five per cent from the existing 10 per cent as well as to increase the import duty on finished adhesive to 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent. Â Â Â bdsmile@gmail.com