Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA) on Tuesday urged the government to withdraw supplementary duty (SD) on all types of toy components to flourish the sector.
BPGMEA President Shamim Ahmed made the call at the seminar and showcasing “Plastic Toy Industries of Bangladesh-A Potential Sector for Export Diversification” organised by BPGMEA in collaboration with EC4J (World Bank Project), and the Ministry of Commerce at CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Shamim said, “Every toy is different and each of them is made innovatively. BPGMEA has recently received patent registration for new toy items from the Department of Patent Design and Registration office.”
“Our activity started in 1998, almost 24 years ago from today. In 1996, only six toy patents were registered. Whereas 109 were registered in 2019, 155 in 2021, and 61 in 2022. A total of 2,558 toy patents have been registered so far,” he added.
The BPGMEA president also said, “To date, we have provided Tk 2,26,04,326 as revenue to the government treasury for registration of toys and crockery items.”
He sought the cooperation of the government for the development of the toy industry. “Since toy-making is a labour-dependent sector, it has a lot of job opportunities, even for women workers. This sector is likely to play a big role in exports one day.”
"Even a decade ago, 90 per cent of toys were imported. At present 10 per cent is imported, 90 per cent is made in the country. The price of imported toys is still very low as the tariff rate stands at $7.5 per kg, which should be at least $20 per kg,” he added.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin, BUILD CEO Ferdous Ara Begum, among others were also present at the seminar.
