Home ›› 21 Jun 2022 ›› Front
Bangladeshi manufacturers are seeing a bright prospect for the artificial leather sector because of its multi-purpose uses across the country.
The manufacturers say the world’s largest artificial leather producer China is gradually shifting focus away from this synthetic finished products.
So, local manufacturers are investing massively in artificial leather production. They export footwear, shoe and jacket abroad including India.
Manufacturers say the annual local synthetic leather market is worth about Tk500 crore. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8 to 10 per cent from 2022 to 2030.
Artificial leather well known as rexine used for various purposes including footwear, floor mat, bed sheet, furniture, car decoration, travel bags, purses, wallets, winter jackets, canvas and notebooks at a low cost much to the convenience of customers.
The footwear sector is a key factor propelling the overall market growth. The high cost of natural leather is another factor for which artificial leather market demand is increasing.
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) leather is another important type of synthetic leather that got popularity due to its diverse uses including travel bags, notebooks, purses,wallets, jackets, flooring and wallpaper.
United Group of Industries, BNS Group of Companies, Royal Weaving and Coating Industry Limited, PRAN-RFL Group, Pegasus Leathers Ltd, Provati Artificial Leather Industries are top artificial leather manufacturers in the country.
Kamal Kamruzzaman, Director (marketing) of PRAN-RFL Group, told The Business Post that artificial leather goods market was growing day by day.
Kamal said PRAN-RFL Group is thinking about exporting synthetic leather-made various products.
Raihan Islam Rishad, Executive Director of Royal Weaving and Coating Industry Limited, told The Business Post that China was the largest artificial leather goods export country but over the last few years they had not been focusing on technology sectors.
“So it is a great chance for us to set up more synthetic leather factories and boost the sector.”
Artificial leather production is highly dependent on Chinese raw materials and now around 35 to 40 per cent of raw materials are imported from China.
“As the Bangladesh government imposed high import duty on it we cannot go into large-scale production despite huge market demand,” Rishad added.
Raw materials including PVC synthetic, pigment and colour are common raw materials imported from China, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Germany and France. Machinery is imported from Japan.
Manufacturers say Bangladeshi artificial leather goods are most attractive. It is high time to export finished items abroad like ready-made garments and natural leather goods.
But exporters cannot compete in the global market due to high production cost because of raw materials import and high tax and vat.
“Once upon a time local traders were dependent on the import but now we are exporting the rexine products aboard. Now 8 to 10 manufacturers are operating in Bangladesh,” Yeakub Ali, Secretary of Dhaka Rexine Traders Association, told The Business Post.
He said the government should reduce import duty on raw materials to boost this sector.
Artificial leather insiders say DOP (dioctyl phthalate) is one of the raw materials most widely used plasticizers in PVC-based products such as synthetic leather. Manufacturers cannot directly import these items without local syndicates.
Traders say old Dhaka’s Bangshal, Siddique Bazar, and Chawk Bazar are the prime wholesale markets in the country. Old Dhaka-based three local traders have already set up factories as the future is holding a bright prospects in the artificial leather sector. National Traders, a wholesale shop at Bangshal, is selling PVC, floor mat, poly and plastic sheets. Its owner Belayet Hossain said Bangladeshi manufacturers are producing world-class items and its demand is increasing day by day.
Belayet Hossain said Bangladeshi finished products’ quality is excellent compared to import items. However, local products’ cost is very high for import duty on raw materials.
