Policy void hobbles handicraft industry development

Arafat Ara | Published: March 15, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Entrepreneurs have urged the government to immediately endorse the draft of national handicraft policy to help the handicraft industry flourish.
Due to absence of policy, they said, the sector doesn't get proper support such as product development and marketing facilities etc.
S. U. Haider, president of Bangladesh Handicraft Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BHMEA), said they submitted a draft handicraft policy to the industries ministry three years back. "But it is yet to get approval from the cabinet."
The sector is expanding in an unplanned manner for lack of policy, he said, adding that small entrepreneurs, especially those from rural areas aren't getting logistics.
Calling on the authorities concerned to give nod to the policy soon, he said, "If we get proper policy support, industry growth will increase several times."
A committee comprising members from BHMEA, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) and ministries concerned was formed in 2011 and it was asked to make a draft policy for handicraft industry. Later, the draft was submitted to the industries ministry in 2012, according to association sources.
The draft policy has ten chapters with the strategies for development of the sector and export of handicrafts.
The committee had also recommended cash incentives for export of handicrafts and proposed installation of a design centre for the sector.
The policy suggested strengthening BHMEA, popularly known as Banglacraft, equipping it with all resources such as library, information centre and training etc.
Nearly 0.4 million to 0.5 million small and large entrepreneurs are involved with handicraft business. Of them, only 400 have registered with the association, sources said.
The sector has created employment opportunity for nearly 5.0 million people. Of them, 80 per cent is women, they said.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau data, export earnings from handicraft sector amounted to US$ 7.50 million in the fiscal year 2013-14, up from US$ 6.16 million one year back. In the last eight months of the current fiscal year, the sector had earnings totalling $ 4.97 million.
Mr Haider said although export performance of the handicraft sector is insignificant, earnings as a whole are not bad because the EPB data don't include leather, jute products, wooden furniture and jute yarns in it.
Bangladesh exports handicrafts mostly to the European Union, the USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, the UAE and Hong Kong, he added.
The most exportable items are baskets, clay products such as terracotta and terracotta tiles, jute shopping bags and jute gardening products.
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