Plastic manufacturers eye over $17b exports by 2030

Highlights

• Bangladesh exported plastic items worth nearly $1.1 billion last year. The new target is to reach over $17 billion
• To make this happen, the manufacturers demanded a 10-year tax holiday and an uninterrupted power supply 
• They also called for the withdrawal of value-added tax on plastic toys and crockeries

The country's plastic manufacturers have set a new target of securing a 3% share of the $570 billion global market by 2030.

Bangladesh exported plastic items worth nearly $1.1 billion last year. The new target is to reach over $17 billion.

"We have designed a roadmap to increase our share to 3% from the existing below 1% in the international market by 2030," Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Shamim Ahmed said in a press conference at its office in the capital Tuesday.

"To make this happen, we need a 10-year tax holiday and other policy support from the government. We also need an uninterrupted power supply to our industries," he added and called for the withdrawal of value-added tax on plastic toys and crockeries.

Shamim Ahmed urged the government to complete the construction of the proposed plastic industrial park at the earliest. He also emphasised the handover of 90 acres of land at the Bscic Chemical Village and 10 acres under the Export Competitiveness for Jobs project for separate plastic zones.

"The plastic sector has huge potential in export. We are currently shipping products to 126 countries," he told the event organised to brief about the 15th International Plastic Fair to be kicked off on 22 February at International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital.

The president added that more than 5,000 plastic factories with direct and indirect employment of 12 lakh people produced goods worth Tk40,000 crore last year while the government earned nearly Tk3,500 crore from the sector. 

He further called for mass awareness of recycling plastic goods so that the country can achieve its new export target and save the environment.

Businesses from 21 countries to join the fair

Some 300 businesses from 21 countries, including China, India, South Korea, the USA, France, Italy and Japan, are expected to participate in the four-day fair, according to the organisers – the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and Yorkers Torkers and Marketing Company Limited.

They will display different types of products at 469 stalls out of the total 760 stalls at the exhibition in the capital. The fair, open between 22-25 February, will also showcase modern technology and machinery of the plastic industry, especially those used in recycling plastics.