Backpack makers hope big as demand soars

A cool travel gear backpack has nowadays assumed primacy while embarking on any trip or carrying anything anywhere – be it to school, to office or wheresoever.

A changing lifestyle in accordance with the economic development has contributed to the rise of backpack usage which is considered very handy compared to other travel bags due to its easy-to-carry nature and robustness.

In response to people’s choice, backpack traders have come up with a variety of impressive designs and colours to woo their customers, and are making brisk business that sees 20-25 per cent growth per annum.

Meeting the domestic demand, backpack makers are trying to explore foreign markets while the trend has already got off to a good start.

According to the data of Bangladesh Bag Manufacturers Merchant Association, every day some 50,000 backpacks are sold across the country while the annual turnover stands at around Tk 2,000 crore.

“There is hardly anybody that does not prefer using backpack which is light in weight and easy to carry,” manufacturers gave vent to their ideas.

“Students, travellers, hikers and the like are common users of this rucksack that has theft protection, USB port, Bluetooth-enabled locks and is water resistant, thus shooting up the demand.”

A private company employee Shamsunnaher Benu said when she was a student she used to carry books either in plastic bag or with her hand, but the situation has changed over the years.

“Now my kid has at least three backpacks – for going to school regularly, for village tour and for embarking on travel,” explained the mother living in the city’s Dhanmondi.

Besides, manufacturers are keen on developing highly comfortable and luxurious light-weight bags to provide a classic backpacking experience to their consumers.

Md Mozzammel Haque Pathan Alak, secretary, Aziz Super Market Bag Seller Association, said carrying backpack has turned out to be a new fashion in the country which is creating demand.

According to the Bangladesh Bag Manufacturers Merchant Association, the demand for backpacks is more than their production.

“We can sell more than 4,000 units of backpacks per month while very recently I found an order to supply 13,000 backpacks,” said the association president Md Delowar Hossain Khan.

Local products sold as imported from China

Bangladesh is highly dependent on China for raw materials to produce backpacks.

Despite a vast import of 90-95 per cent of raw materials, the country is meeting 70 per cent of local demand through local manufacturing, industry insiders said.

Currently, 40 known and unknown local brands are available in the market, but some unscrupulous businessmen sell local products branding them to be Chinese items.

Daniel, Orbit, Ctb and Winner are some popular local brands while President, Artic Hunter, Ornet, Shaolong, etc. are imported brands.

According to traders, customers feel reluctant to purchase a locally made backpack but show interest to buy when they see it made in China.

However, some consumers prefer local brands like Daniel, Orbit, Ctb, Winner, etc. to their foreign peers.

Ismail Khalil, proprietor, Mamun Enterprise at Dhaka New Market, said he has been in the industry since 1982 and he introduced a new brand called Victor in 2015.

“I have observed a great demand for backpack. People shy away from local brand and do not want to pay even a standard price, but they are ready to pay more when it is foreign product,” described Khalil.

Backpack export likely

Though Bangladesh needs to import a considerable amount of raw material for backpack from China, over the years various local brands have originated ensuring high quality and intending to set foot in overseas markets. Some 2,000 factories have so far come into being to produce backpacks.

Mohammad Shah Alam, executive director of Daniel Corporation Limited, said they are making high quality backpacks in the country which are more durable than the foreign brands.

“Even a group of delegation from China made a visit to my factory and lauded my work. We are supplying products to mostly corporate houses. Besides, the Army and the police place order for our bags because of their quality,” he added.

The local brand Ctb proprietor Md Rostam Chowdhury said they have much more demand than they can manufacture; the demand of their product is increasing by 25 to 30 per cent annually.

“We strictly maintain quality and have got order from Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. We are planning to go for more production to maximise our profit and open up our export market,” argued Rostam.

Import falls sharply after pandemic

The import of raw material from China has nosedived being hard hit by the pandemic. As per the data of Aziz Super Market Bag Seller Association, Bangladesh used to import more than 100 containers of backpacks monthly before the pandemic which has come down to 40 containers.

The association secretary Md Mozzammel Haque Pathan Alak said due to the pandemic, import has plummeted that has created a crisis for imported products and that has come as a blessing for local manufacturers.

Mohammad Shah Alam, executive director, Daniel Corporation Limited, said dependency on China is gradually reducing.

“Now many kinds of raw materials are available in the local market. Gradually, most raw materials will be available here and the country will not depend on China in the coming days anymore,” he hoped.

Challenges and demand of manufactures

The backpack manufactures said they envision a good future for earning forex next to the RMG by sending their products overseas and so policy support is required.

Besides, they demand the government withdraw Vat on backpacks and reduce high tax on importing raw materials.

“We have to pay 92 per cent tax on importing clothes for manufacturing backpacks. Many unscrupulous importers bring raw materials through bonded warehouse facility, thereby depriving the government of a huge amount of tax,” they pointed out.

Md Mozzammel Haque Pathan Alak indentified a series of drawbacks including lack of loan facilities, skilled labour, traditional way of manufacturing, absence of modern technology and education as bar to tapping the full potential of the growing industry.

Echoing the same, Md Delowar Hossain added that the government should set tax on imported products at a reasonable level to facilitate the growth of the industry.