Home ›› 06 Aug 2021 ›› Front
As people grow more cautious over their appearance and fashion in the age of social media, wig products made in Bangladesh have found a new avenue into a billion-dollar global market through quality, customisation and price competitiveness.
With the global demand increasing day by day, some 150 factories in Dhaka, Nilphamari, Bagerhat, Pabna, Gazipur, Sherpur, Nagoan, Rajshahi and other districts are now producing wig products such as toupees, wefts, and hairpieces for clients from different corners of the world.
“After gathering practical experience on hair items manufacturing from Korean company Leera Trading Limited in Bangladesh, I opened a wig and hair products manufacturing factory in Dhaka in 1996. Currently, we export human hair products to India, China and some 150 countries,” Hairy Limited Proprietor Matiur Rahman, a pioneer in the wigs and hair products manufacturing in the country, said while explaining his journey into the sector to The Business Post.
“Local hair collectors generally provide us with clean and sanitised human hair for prices ranging from Tk 10,000 to Tk 15,000 per kg. Currently, we collect some 3,000kg hair from hawkers and local markets while the rest and other materials related to the manufacturing are imported from South Korea, Japan and China,” he said.
According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), the global hair wigs and extensions market is expected to reach $13.3 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13 per cent between 2021 and 2026.
“We also sell wigs at a retail price ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 35,000 per based on quality. We also sell accessories related to our products to various wig and hair retail centres in the country,” he added.
Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest online-based marketplaces, sells different types of wigs at a retail price ranging between $120 and $350.
Matiur, who had his first factory at Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur, also had to set up another factory at Narsingdi to meet the growing demands for his products.
He also said the demand in the local market has also been growing over the last few years as more and more men and women from different age groups are now eager to use wigs and other related products.
According to Matiur, the total market demand for wig products in the country is around Tk 1,143.71 crore.
He also mentioned that Bangladeshi manufacturers enjoy price competitiveness in the global market due to low labour costs and transport costs compared to other exporting nations.
“We do not count India and China as our mainstream competitors in the global market as we can produce quality products at a low manufacturing and transport cost. Clients from all around the world come to Bangladesh to buy our products,” Matiur said when asked regarding Bangladesh’s main competitors in the global world.
Manufacturers said labours in the sector get Tk 300 to Tk 500 each per day and it takes six workers to process one kilogram of hair.
Atiar Rahman, the proprietor of Hair Like International, located at Faidabad in Dhaka, said, “Some 1,300 wigs are being produced in my factory every month and 93 per cent of them are being exported to China, India, United Arab Emirates, India and Pakistan. The rest is sold at the local hair replacement saloons for Tk 5,000 to Tk 18,000 each, depending on quality.”
Tahmid Hasan, chief executive officer of Hair Piece Factory in Dhaka, told The Business Post, “The wigs business already has a bright future at both home and abroad as we can provide custom size and quality as per the customers’ demands.”
“We are manufacturing human hair products since 1997 and our export destinations include Europe, South America, Africa, Middle East, USA, China and Japan,” he added.
“Foreign buyers, mainly Chinese, visit the country to collect human hair, raw hair, loose hair, hairpiece, toupee, hair extensions, weft, wig-lets and wigs supplier,” he informed.
Ariful Islam, who collects human hair to sell to factories in Rajshahi, told The Business Post, “I collect human hair from hair saloons, beauty parlours and local agents from Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore and then sell them to the factories. I buy human hair for Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000 a kilogram and sell these to the purchasing agents at Tk 12,000 per kilogram.”
Limon Kanti Roy, who works as an interpreter for Chinese buyers at Nilphamari, told The Business Post, “Both local and foreign buyers come to the factories to purchase the wigs products and human hair after verifying the quality and the size.”
“Both foreign and local buyers purchase ponytails of different lengths, ranging between 6 inches and 26 inches. Shorter hairs are used for male wigs while the long ones for manufacturing hair extensions and wigs for women,” he added.
Shahidul Alam Bhuyan, managing director of Human Hair Gallery at Dhaka’s Dakhinkhan, told The Business Post, “Apart from Dhaka, dozens of entrepreneurs are manufacturing wigs products in factories at Chuadanga, Kushtia, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Tangail and Gazipur, providing job opportunities to some 3,00,000 people.”
“Buyers from home and abroad throng to these factories to purchase the hair and wig products, while the daily average turnover for the industry is around Tk 1.5 crore,” Saiful stated.
“Meanwhile, such wig items also are being manufactured from three EPZs as the global demand continues to grow day by day,” he added.
According to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone (BEPZA), three Chinese joint venture companies – Evergreen Products Factory (BD) Ltd, MGL Company BD Ltd and YCL International Industries Ltd manufacturing wigs and hair products in their factories located Uttara Export Processing Zone (UEPZ) in Nilphamari, Iswardi Export Processing Zone in Pabna, and Mongla Export Processing Zone in Bagerhat respectively.
Bangladesh exported $32.5 million worth of wigs and human hair from the EPZs in the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 and the amount was $.57.13 million in the last fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
The earnings from the product in 2010-2011 was $0.81 million, the data showed.
From January 2017 to May 31 this year, Everdeen Products (BD) Ltd exported wigs items worth at $35.22 million, Master Purple (BD) Limited $25.04 million, and Dong Jin Industrial (BD) company Ltd $0.17 million, said BEPZA General Manager Nazma Binte Alamgir.
Md Shamim Uddin, general manager of Evergreen Products (BD) Ltd, told The Business Post, “We are exporting wigs and hair items to over 100 countries focusing on Japan, China, Korea, USA and European nations.”
“Bangladesh has gained the popularity for wigs products in recent years and will occupy a notable share in the global market in future,” the GM said.
“We source our raw materials primarily from China, South Korea, Japan, and India. And Bangladesh will soon be the next source country. We produce 3 million pieces of top-quality wigs, hair pieces, braids and high-end human hair extensions every month for the global fashion industry,” EPF’s Deputy General Manager Quazi Ferdaus-Ul-Alam told The Business Post.
Regarding the skills needed for workers in the sector, she said, “Knotting a wig requires sharp eyes for detail. Female workers aged between 18 and 23 can work better.”
SM Akhter Alam Mostafi, an assistant general manager of UEPZ, said the company exports wigs and human hair to Africa, Oceania, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, North America, Taiwan (China) and the EU.
Talking to The Business Post, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the government has already taken various initiatives to enable the country’s growing human hair and wig manufacturing industry to play a vital role in the global market.
The government has already allocated industrial plots to four companies so far to produce wigs and hair products at export processing zones, the secretary said.
The government has also been providing one-stop service through Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) to attract more entrepreneurs to this sector, he added.
