Bangladesh’s Light engineering sector opens up export opportunities

BANGLADESH’s light engineering sector (LES) has opened up export opportunities as it achieved nearly 81 per cent growth in shipments to overseas markets in the last fiscal year, say experts. According to a news report published in a national daily on Thursday, light engineering, a hub for nearly 800,000 jobs, after meeting some 30 per cent of local demand, has earned about half a billion US dollars in foreign exchange. Small and medium scale manufacturers exported US$529 million worth of engineering products in fiscal 2021, posting an 80.60 per cent growth year on year. In the previous fiscal 2020, the exports by the sector fetched $292.92 million.
Bangladesh has so far made a small dent in the global light engineering export market of a hefty $7 trillion, said experts here on Wednesday. Our exports mainly are bicycle, automobile spares, electrical equipment, construction-related equipment, machinery, stone and brick crushers, spare parts for paper and cement mills, bicycle light fittings, cast-iron articles, carbon rods, train-and-rail-support equipment and marine spare parts. A recent study of the International Finance Corporation showed that Bangladesh’s LES has employed 600,000 people in its 50,000 micro-enterprises and 10,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
We are hopeful about getting a boost in the coming days as the SMEs and micro-industries are trying hard to turn their workshops into modern enterprises and produce quality products for export. The exports of light engineering products during fiscal 2017 were the highest in a decade when it fetched a record amount of $688.84 million. But the exports faced a steep fall in subsequent fiscal years with $355 million in 2018, $341.3 in 2019 and 293.92 million in 2020. But it again went on a rebound in FY2021, Export Promotion Bureau data shows.
It may be mentioned that the Business Promotion Council, an agency under the Commerce Ministry and the Bangladesh Engineering Owners Association, has jointly prepared a draft policy for the LES. The policy seeks to increase the contribution of industries to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 40 per cent by 2025 by developing light engineering industries. It also focuses on strengthening the sector by improving infrastructure, enhancing technology and skills, and diversifying products to face the challenges of the global competitions. We believe this will also create opportunities for investment in the sector.