Home ›› 15 Jul 2022 ›› Front
Rahim Mondal, a construction mechanic, came to old Dhaka’s Nawabpur Road from Manikganj to buy nuts and bolts for his construction site and he bought around 50 kgs of nuts and bolts.
He bought such a big amount for his own works as well as for his hardware shop. He came here to buy different types of nuts and bolts at wholesale price, he said.
Another man, a small trader, named Kuddus Fakir came from Munshiganj to buy a special type of nut and bolt for his machine that went out of order.
This special type of nut and bolt are made in China and so it was tough for him to find them in Mushiganj. That was the reason he came to Dhaka. He knew he could find them in Dhaka.
Nuts and bolts are small products but those are used everywhere - from home to offices to factories, both of them told The Business Post.
The businessmen said they had to rely on foreign countries for these nuts and bolts earlier. But now they are being manufactured in the country and this small industrial sector is playing an important role in the country’s economy by reducing dependency on import.
However, due to unavailability of raw materials and the complexity of taxes and VAT, it is difficult for the sector to compete with foreign products, they said.
Many factories are qualified to manufacture nuts and bolts in accordance with international standards. If the government patronizes the sector and raw materials are readily available they will be able to earn a lot of foreign exchanges by exporting those products, the traders said. This correspondent also received such information from some other traders while visiting Old Dhaka’s Ray Shaheb Bazar, Dholaikhal and Keraniganj areas.
Mohammad Meraj Hossain, General Secretary of the proposed Nuts and Bolts Industry Owners’ Association and owner of Dhaka Metal, said there were no exact figures on how many people or organizations were involved in making nuts and bolts.
But, he thinks, directly and indirectly more than 5,000 people and their families are dependent on this industry.
The nuts and bolts market is worth more than Tk1, 000 crore in Bangladesh, he said, and sometimes supply exceeds the demand resulting in loss in their business making it difficult for them to survive. If they are able to export surplus goods abroad the business will flourish helping them survive, he observed.
“We have the ability to export abroad but we are not getting the right platform. If the government pays attention to this sector it will thrive more,” Meraj said.
Sarwar Hossain Pannu, the owner of Rose Steel Corporation and a leader of the association, who has been manufacturing nuts and bolts for 12 years, said nuts and bolts had been made in the country for 22 to 25 years.
When he started, there were about 70-80 factories. At present there are well over 100 factories in Bangladesh. About 70-75 per cent demands for nuts and bolts have been fulfilled locally. The rest has to be imported, he said.
For the production of nuts and bolts they usually use raw materials from rerolling mills of the country. However, some raw materials have to be imported from China and India, Sarwar added.
M/S Rafik Iron Center’s owner Rafikul Islam told The Business Post that he is a small businessman. At first it was good a business but now it is now difficult for him to survive as many people like foreign products.
Moreover, big companies like Walton and RFL are now manufacturing nuts and bolts.
Initially the business requires Tk40 to 50 lakh investment. Most of the factories are located in Dhaka and its surrounding areas like Narayanganj, Fatulla, Shyampur, Shonir Akhra, Keraniganj, Postagola and Dholaikhal.
Enayat Hossain, the owner of Yasin Hardware located at Ray Shaheb Bazar, has been involved in the business for 35 years. He told The Business Post: “Now nuts and bolts are being made in our country. However, we are not able to compete with China in terms of price.”
“We have a crisis of raw materials. In our country, iron is relatively hard. And for this reason, iron has to be brought from China or India resulting in hikes in prices as raw materials import involves tax, VAT and duty fee,” he added.
As for the price of nuts and bolts another trader Abdur Rahman said they sell bolts for Tk90 to 95 a kg and nuts for Tk120-130 a kg.
Motiul Islam Uzzal, President of Nut and Bolt Shop Owners Association and the owner of Al-Mukaddim Hardware Mart at Ray Shaheb Bazar said they had 60-70 shops at the market.
About 300 people and their families are dependent on this business. They have average annual turnover of around Tk25 to Tk30 crore.
If the government reduces VAT and taxes on imports of raw materials or goods, the industry will certainly expand further, he said.
Walton’s Executive Director Md Rakib Uddin told The Business Post “Walton’s nuts-and-bolts production is around 1800 tonnes per year. Since there is no supply of raw materials in Bangladesh, the raw material is imported and produced in its own plant.
Walton’s nuts and bolts were first used in their own products and sold outside as well. Several local companies are buying their nuts and bolts, he informed.
Rakib said at present Walton is meeting the domestic demand. However, there are plans to export abroad. Therefore, discussions are going on with some foreign companies about export.
When asked how to reduce import dependency on nuts and bolts in Bangladesh and increase exports abroad he said in case of import of raw materials, the duty on imported goods can be increased. This will reduce the tendency to import which will save foreign currency and the country’s industrial sector will be benefited and employment generated.
Local manufacturers should be encouraged to produce quality screw, nuts and bolt through training. The government agencies, including BSTI, need to take proactive role in ensuring quality of products at the market, he said.
Rakib said the domestic steel mills should be interested in producing standard wire rods through subsidy or VAT-tax facility.
