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Global Capsules Ltd, a sister concern of Opsonin Pharma Limited, is thriving on exporting crushed bones and horns of animals, after meeting the demand of local drug and ceramic industries.
The business entity enjoys a monopoly while buying crushed bones from 27 bone grinders as such a start-up involves huge money and highly expert workforce. At present there is no competitor of Global Capsules Ltd, industry insiders said.
The bits of animals especially bone and horn — that don’t make it to people’s platter — are being recycled to be used as raw material for drug, ceramic etc industries at home and abroad.
Business of animal body parts, which are destined to be dumped in the dustbins, causing human health hazards, has become profitable compared to many other small businesses.
Md Jalal Hossen, owner of Riad Trading and Bone Mills at Matuail in the capital’s Jatrabari area, has been involved in this business since 1990.
He started the bone business with his elder brothers but that time it was a petty business, which is now expanding.
Jalal, who has set up another bone mill in Khulna, collects at least 400 to 450 tonnes of bones per month particularly the three months following Eid-ul-Azha and in the rest nine months of the year the collection comes to 300 to 320 tonnes.
Dhaka factory needs 200 to 210 tonnes while Khulna mill demands 110 to 100 tonnes as input.
Jalal said he buys the bones at Tk 15 to Tk 16 per kg from the collectors. Bones are then ground to dust in the mill and 70 per cent of powdered bone is sold to the Global Capsules Ltd at Tk 27.5 per kg. The remaining 30 per cent of the bone dust is sold to the various nurseries at the prices ranging between Tk 9 and Tk 10 per kg. The total market price of the crushed bone stands nearly at Tk 1 crore, he added.
In his mills, he has employed 30 to 35 people who draw per year at least Tk 14 lakh to Tk 15 lakh in wages.
Jalal was awarded as a ‘Micro Investor’ in the male category under the National SME Investor Year Best Award 2020 for his contribution to the bone and horn business.
Muhammad Awal Hossain, another bone businessman in that area, owner of Meharab Bone Mills said, “I have been amassing about 1400 to 1500 tonnes every year and 70 per cent of the collection is sold to the Global Capsule Ltd and remaining 30 per cent is sold to the various nurseries.”
Traders said in the factories the bones are first dried and then ground into powder. Bone powder is used to make capsule shell, which is exported abroad while the horns of cows, buffaloes and goats are exported to India.
The horns are used to make various handicrafts including combs, buttons, X-ray film, camera film, interior designing etc.
Apart from Jatrabari, bone grinding factories sprawl in Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar areas in the capital and in few other districts.
Junaid Karim Razib, the owner of a grinding factory, said currently 13 mills are running and their production reaches 12,000 tonnes per year.
The mill owners are grinding the bone and selling them only to the Global Capsules Ltd, and the company is the only buyer of the bone and horn products in the country.
“We are making gelatin, capsule shell and Di-Calcium Phosphate (DCP) and the production capacity of gelatin is 625 tonnes various size of capsule shell 7200 million, DCP 3600 tonnes as well as 400 tonnes per year which market price is more than Tk 100 crore,” said Md Masud Ferbas, executive of the supply chain of the Global Capsules Ltd.
“All the pharmaceutical companies of the country are purchasing the capsule shell and gelatin DCP from us and we are exporting these components to the foreign countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Iran, Thailand, USA” Masud added.
“In last three consecutive fiscal years, we paid over Tk 32.28 crore in taxes,” he added.
“If we had not produced gelatin, capsule shell and DCP, our country would have to import these items from foreign countries, costing Bangladesh Tk 100 crore in foreign currency,” he added.
