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Country's plastic products are getting popularity in the world market, said the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB),reports BDNEWS.
Bangladesh earned Tk 1.6billion in 2004 by exporting plastic products while growth in export in the sector in 2003-04 was 81 per cent while 80.76 per cent in 2004-05.
Bangladesh's plastic products are being exported to 55 countries including the USA, the UK, Poland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Entrepreneurs said plastic has been playing an important role as backward linkage for garments, medicine and food processing industries apart from direct export of the plastic products.
According to the EPB, 20 plastic accessories in the garment industry, including hanger, butterfly, clip, neck-board and poly-bags are produced in the country.
SM Fazlul Haque, panel president of the BGMEA, said earlier they had to import all the accessories at high cost taking additional time. "Now we don't need to import the plastic accessories, we get those in the country."
Entrepreneurs said the garment accessories are exported directly alongside their export through the country's readymade garment industry. Besides, Bangladesh's plastic household items, office stationary and packaging for liquid and powder food items earned fame in the world, they added.
They said plastic products used for blood bags, saline bags, capsule bodies and strips, injection syringes and containers for tablet and capsules are also produced in the country.
"Bangladesh achieved international standard in manufacturing medicine related plastic products. These products are also exported as backward linkage of the medicine industry," said an entrepreneur.
Besides, he said, Bangladesh exports agro-technology enabling plastic goods to Germany, Russia and Middle-Eastern countries.
With drum-seeder being widely used for sowing seeds in the world, Bangladeshi plastic industries are producing it. Also, poly greenhouse, used as a protector from insects and high temperature, is also manufactured in the country.
KM Iqbal, general secretary of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), said the country could save hundreds of millions of taka, had import of these could be checked by setting up mould factories.
He said entrepreneurs of several countries, including Iran, are interested to make investment in mould factories and petrochemical complexes.
Shahedul Islam Helal, chairman of Export Wing of the BPGMEA, has complained that the policymakers are indecisive over the prospective industry.
"The Finance Ministry is talking about 10 per cent cash incentive. But the Environment Ministry has been discouraging establishment of new polythene factories and giving new licences and renewal of the old ones," he said.
The plastic entrepreneurs said foreign investors, especially from China, France, Malaysia and UAE are interested to invest in the sector.
They also stressed the need for establishing a plastic industrial city to attract the foreign buyers to see many products in one place.
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