Eyewear demand brightens

Bangladesh’s eyewear market saw substantial growth during the pandemic as movement restrictions confined people to their homes, forcing them to spend more on-screen time with offices and classes going virtual.

“Long-term use of computers, laptops and mobile phones may cause dry eye disease and other problems. The number of eye patients is increasing day by day in our country,” Dr Fazlur Rashid, an eye specialist at Manabik Shahajya Sangstha, told The Business Post.

The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns apparently exacerbated the situation. During the pandemic, the government shut educational institutions and introduced online classes. Offices and businesses went virtual with meetings and trainings taking place online. People spent more time on the internet and with their electrical gadgets as they could not go out of their houses.

Many people were forced to seek medical help and adopt eyewear during the recent months.

Earlier this year, an international study involving over 1,20,000 children aged six to eight found cases of myopia, or nearsightedness, increased up to three times during the pandemic compared to the previous five years.

Third-grader Ariayana Rahman, who has been attending virtual school since the virus outbreak, recently visited an ophthalmologist. “The doctor said that the extensive use of electronic gadgets had affected her eyesight,” her father told The Business Post. 

Mizanur Rahman, a private job holder, is having similar eyesight issues. “I have been working from home since the pandemic began. Now I spend six to seven hours a day in front of the laptop and other devices. At regular times, I spent more time outside but now I am completely dependent on electronic devices for work and entertainment,” he said.

Rahman said he would visit an eye specialist soon.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. At least 1 billion of these cases could have been prevented or were yet to be addressed. WHO said that the annual global cost of productivity losses associated with vision impairment from uncorrected myopia and presbyopia alone were estimated to be $244 billion and $25.4 billion, respectively.

Sana Ullah Khan, president of Bangladesh Chasma Shilpa-O-Banik Samity, said the spectacle industry has been growing 10-15 per cent every year.

Manjurul Haque Sikder, former president of the Samity, said, “Growing visual deficiencies has resulted in increasing demand for spectacles and the use of modern electronic devices including mobile phones, laptops and computer also may be responsible for vision disorders which also affected over the eyewear market.”

Kazi Jane Alam, former vice president of the Samity, said the pandemic and lockdown hampered the business but now they are recovering. “Our sales are now better compared to recent years,” he told The Business Post.

According to the recent findings of Fortune Business Insights, the global eyewear market size was $105.56 billion in 2020. The market is projected to grow from $114.95 billion in 2021 to $172.42 billion in 2028 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6 per cent in the 2021-2028 period.