The plastic sector may earn huge foreign currency almost equivalent to garment sector by exporting toys if the government helps the toy sector with proper policy support. Domestic and foreign entrepreneurs are now increasingly coming to invest in the country's toy sector.
Shamim Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) made the observations at a press conference organized by Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) project.
Ministry of Commerce organized the event at the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at Palton on Tuesday (May 20).ahead of Bangladesh made Toys exhibition. Named as Showcasing and Sourcing of Plastic Toys the fair will open at 10 am on Thursday, May 22.
It will open at Grand Ball Room of Hotel Intercontinental in the city. The Expo will continue till 5 pm, and remain open to everyone from 10 am to 5 pm to mainly showcase toys produced in the country.
Some foreign companies will participate in the expo. Shamim said home-made toys meet the country's 90 percent demand. The rest is is being met through imports. An investment of Tk 4500 crore has already been made in this sector and more than 30,000 jobs being created of which 80 percent are women.
He also said currently 36 million US dollars are earned by exporting toys. With government support, the amount of toy exports in the next 5 years will be about 1 billion. It is possible to upgrade to US dollars.
Shamim Ahmed said, toy market is still dominated by China; which also exports industry raw materials. It also exports finished products. In this situation, Bangladesh is will be in good position by competing with China in production and export of toys.
It will be a big advantage to produce toys in Bangladesh and export to almost all countries with duty-free benefits.
He also said, India is exporting toy to the Seven Sisters, Nepal and Bhutan. Japan, the United States, Singapore, Spain, Italy, France, and various European countries are exporting to a small extent. There is an opportunity to export to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. This opportunity should be utilized.
In response to a question regarding the ban on export of goods by land to India, he said, "We are facing major losses due to India's ban on export of goods by land ports." We believe the government will take necessary initiatives in this regard.
