Light engineering exports up 58% on policy support

Bangladesh’s export earnings from the light engineering sector grew a remarkable 58 per cent to $489 million during the July-January period of Fiscal Year 2021-22, when compared year-on-year.

This figure crossed the $377 million target set for this particular period. More than one third of the total earnings came from engineering equipment exports, reaching $182 million compared to the $67 million target.

Of the $489 million figure, the country earned $93.19 million and $90.44 million from iron steel and bicycle exports respectively, which make up two of the biggest earnings sources in the light engineering sector.

Commenting on the growth, Bangladesh Engineer Industry Owners Association (BEIOA) President Md Abdur Razzaque said, “Government policy support and incentives for this sector have allowed us to boost export earnings significantly compared to the previous year.

“We used to import engineering products from India, but now we export the same type of goods to this neighbouring country.”

A number of light engineering industry insiders say the export earnings can be boosted further by properly addressing several persisting issues, mainly the shortage of working capital, skilled manpower and adequate infrastructure.

They added that the sector desperately needs a training programme to reskill existing workers, and initiatives to create new workforce.

Abdul Kader, owner of the Famous Engineering Works – an establishment founded in the early 1970s, said, “The government should buy our products instead of importing machineries and engineering equipment.

“The machinery and engineering equipment we produce are of the same quality produced by Japan. The authorities should also take adequate measures to tackle the existing manpower shortage in this sector.”

Echoing the same, MN Engineering Works’ Manager Kabir said, “We have a lot of workers that have no technical education.”

Making a few recommendations to help this sector flourish further, BEIOA President Md Abdur Razzaque said, “The government should upgrade our capacity to help sustain this growth and allow us to better compete in the global market.

“Without such measures, we will face trouble after the LDC graduation. We currently are unable to get larger investments due to a lack of infrastructure. More subsidies and a better investment environment are key requirements for expanding this industry.”

Razzaque also suggested inclusion of light engineering manufacturers into the Equity and Entrepreneurship Fund, and setting up a Tk 1,000 crore fund for this sector.