Foreign carpets dominate local market

Imported carpets rule the domestic market in Bangladesh as local entrepreneurs cannot produce such textiles due to a lack of skilled manpower and policy support.

Mithu Carpets in the capital’s New Elephant Road is one of the major carpet importers. Its Manager Md Rashed told The Business Post the local demand is currently met by products imported from Turkey, China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran, and several other countries.

He said Turkish carpets sell a lot as they are in great demand in mosques across the country.

Synthetic carpet manufacturing costs are high and that could be a reason why entrepreneurs are not interested in producing them locally, he said.

“Strength, durability, and stain resistance are the main reasons for the popularity of foreign carpets in our country. Currently, less than 5 per cent of people here use carpets,” he said.

He said annual carpet sales amount to Tk 100 crore in the country.

There are around 550-600 carpet stores across the country, but there is no association representing this sector, he said.

Around 20-25 carpet importers are doing business all over the country, he added.

Md Kashem Ali, sales manager of Colors Interior in the capital’s Baitul Mukarram area, said Turkish carpets hold 60 per cent share of the local market.

He said there are around 50 carpet shops at Baitul Mukarram area, and most of them sell Turkish carpets as they have a huge demand among customers.

Foreign carpets are expensive, but customers prefer them for their good quality, he added.

Traders said increasing spending by consumers on interiors and home decors, rising per capita income, attractive colours, durability, and a growing trend of using carpets are playing vital roles in the overall growth of the carpet market in the country.

Khalilur Rahman, a salesperson of Rupashi Carpet House at Purana Paltan, said customers are not interested in the local jute-made carpets as their durability and quality are not satisfactory.

“We do not sell local products in our showroom,” he said.

Fardin Khan, who went to New Elephant Road to buy carpets, said these textiles are an essential part of interior decorations.

It is comfortable to walk on carpets, he said.

Like Fardin, many customers said carpets have now become necessary items for both home and office, especially during winter.

Bangladesh Jute Mills Association President Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman Patwari told The Business Post local carpet factories had been closed between 1980 and 1990.

“Jute prices also increased at the time, and that is why we lost the foreign market of jute-made carpets. Synthetic carpets are mostly used in our country, but we do not have any factory to produce those,” he said.

He emphasised a public-private partnership to grow the local carpet sector.

Especially, jute mills owners have to come forward and take the first initiative to produce international standard carpets, he said.

He further said traders taking the first initiative may face difficulties as there is a shortage of skilled manpower in this sector.

“As using carpets is a growing trend in our country, entrepreneurs may be interested in investing in this sector,” he added.

According to a recent report by market research firm Allied Market Research, the global carpet market size was $51.9 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $73.9 billion by 2026, registering a compound annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent from 2019 to 2026.

Another market research company Research and Markets said in a report in March this year the global market for carpets and rugs is projected to exceed $41 billion by 2024, driven by the unflinching recovery of the construction industry over the last couple of years in most countries across the world and the growing preference for modular carpet solutions.