Bangladesh is the 54th largest export economy in the world at the moment and the 123rd most complex economy as per the reports of Economic Complexity Index (ECI). Much of it has been achieved due to itsreadymade garment sector (RMG) which employees over 20 million people. Owing to such contributions, Bangladesh has emerged as the 2nd largest RMG exporter in the world.
Apart from this, there have been significant contributions from other sectors such as fisheries and leather. But, one of the unprecedented contributionsin the last years has been from the ceramics sector.Once a totally import-dependent nation for ceramic products,Bangladesh has grown well over the years.As per a recentestimate, over 60 industries are contributing to the ceramic sector.
Theindustry now presents itself with an opportunity to serve the needs at the domestic and international level.At present, the ceramic industry of Bangladesh caters to 85% of domestic needs while high quality products of Bangladesh have found huge prospective in global market as well. People in both urbanand rural areas use ceramic items for its decorative, durability properties and due to this, the industry seems to enjoy good response from consumers.
In the FY 2017-18 alone, Bangladesh’s ceramics industryhas earned around $50 million from exports, as per the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. Target has exceeded by almost $10 million, reflecting the exponential growth of this sector in Bangladesh.As per the recent trend, ceramic products from Bangladesh are likely to gain more momentum in the international market. One of the major reasons for this turnaround is the duty imposed by the US government on Chinese ceramics.
Cashing in on the growing demand of the world, Bangladesh government is aiming to diversify its export base, as a diversified product base with competitive pricing has the potential to boost the country’s exports. Ceramic manufacturers are now also receiving 10 cash incentives from the government, which is helping t the companies affiliated in the sector to expand their market.
In light of this, Salman F Rahman, one of the most successful businessmen in Bangladesh,recently mentioned that the government has identified a number of potential sectors for exports and measures have been taken to this effect. “We are giving attention to these sectors. We have achieved success in some cases as well”he added.
One of the major contributions in the ceramics sector of Bangladesh has come from Shinepukur Ceramics ltd, a part of Salman F Rahman’s BeximcoGroup. They have been successful in generating export based revenue and increasing international market value in the ceramics sector. Since then, many entrepreneurs have set their footmark in this potential sector. Now, many other Bangladeshi ceramic brands such as Euro Bangla, Paragon have created good market reputation at domestic and global level.
The only challenge at the moment can be attributed to gas supply and high import duty on raw materials. Thus, there is a need for a possible reduction on import duty and investment in the research. These changes are likely to increase the chances of Bangladesh’s ceramics sector to perform even better at the international market.
