Home ›› 20 Jun 2022 ›› Corporate
Local manufacturers, economists and experts termed the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 as conducive and industrial-friendly, which will boost the local lifts, and elevators manufacturing sector.
In the proposed FY-23 budget, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal discouraged the import of lifts or elevators by raising import duties and aims to protect the huge investments of local entrepreneurs in this sector, industry people said.
The demand for lifts in the domestic market is going up, and local entrepreneurs have already made a massive investment in the manufacturing industry, said renowned economists and industry insiders of the country.
They termed the proposals regarding tariff hike on lift imports as very friendly, conducive and timely decision to boost the domestic lift manufacturing sector.
Dhaka University’s Economics Department Professor Mohammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiqui said, “Encouraging domestic industry is a prerequisite for sustaining the continuous development of any country. If the local infant industry has to compete with the global competitors initially, its’ survival will be at stake.”
“The government have to ensure proper policy support to protect and boost the domestic infant industry,” he added.
“By raising the tariffs, the government is raising the country’s self-dependency, reducing imports and brightening Bangladesh’s global goodwill. Giving benefits to domestic producers is a positive aspect for us,” he noted.
Renowned economist Dr. Kazi Khaliquzzaman said, “In the proposed budget, the import of products –which are manufactured or can be produced in the country–have been discouraged. Thus, local entrepreneurs and industries will be benefited, and economic activity will also increase. We see this as a positive step towards sustainability.”
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh imported Tk 707 crore worth of lifts amid the pandemic, and the import jumped to Tk 885 crore in 2021. The domestic market of lifts stands at Tk 1,200 crore. According to industry insiders, the annual market is growing by 20 per cent.
Currently, meeting the domestic demand for lifts through import incurs costs of a huge amount of foreign currencies. Moreover, local businessmen prefer to import lift as this is more profitable. However, one or two local companies set up lift manufacturing plants with huge investments. The locally-made lift with European technology is much more advanced and high-standard than the imported lift; however, domestic production has sufficient capacity to meet the entire local demand, said a manufacturer.
