Bicycle demand on the rise

A good number of people belonging to middle and low-income groups are choosing bicycles over public transports to avoid virus infection amid the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a rise in sales of cheaper bicycles.

As the government enforced a strict lockdown to stop the delta variant of Covid-19 across the country, the demand, mostly in the capital, for low-cost bicycles ranging from Tk 7000 to Tk 10,000 moved up.

While visiting several bicycle stores in Dhaka it was found that people were increasingly asking for low-price bicycles in recent days.

“I’m here to buy a bicycle. I prefer it as a mode of transportation because taking public transports to the office poses a risk of Covid infection,” Sharif Hossain, an employee of a private company engaged in delivering documents, told The Business Post at a bicycle shop in Gulshan.

“Considering the current situation, it is safer to use personal transport. Since my income shrank due to the pandemic, I had to reduce my budget for buying a bicycle and thus prefer a cheaper one,” he said, adding that riding a bicycle is more flexible compared to other transports and also is a good exercise.

Shop owners said customers want to purchase bicycles as an alternative to public transport for maintaining a physical distance.

They are also facing difficulty in meeting the demand for a delay in receiving their imports in the pandemic situation, which disrupted the supply chain, said the sellers.

The demand for low-cost bicycles is currently increasing. Customers want to buy bikes within a low budget, said Mohammad Akbar Hossain, owner of Bismillah Cycle Store at Bangshal Road in the capital.

“In the past three months, no bicycle could be imported due to the pandemic. Many of our customers want bikes imported from China. But the supply is not adequate right now,” he added.

Demand for Phoenix brand bicycles is more than other bikes. Besides, customers are looking for bicycles at a very low cost which is not available in the market right now. The supply of imported bicycles is significantly low, said Iqbal Hossain Ponu, proprietor of MI Enterprise in Gulshan-1.

Low-paid employees of different organisations want to buy cycles within Tk 6,000 to Tk 7,000, he added.

Alamgir Ahmed, a salesman of Rajanigandha Enterprise at DNCC Super Market in Gulshan said customers are not buying bicycles for their children like before as they are not allowed to go to schools and parks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “People of different income groups visited our store but most of them want bicycles at a low price. We are not getting enough bicycles for disruption in the supply chain. Office employees are visiting our shop more than other groups of customers,’’ he added.

Md Russel Rahman, office secretary of the Bangladesh Bicycle Merchant Assembling and Importers Association (BBMAIA), said that importers are struggling to meet the demand for bicycles since the pandemic began as they do not have enough in stock.

“Usually, around 75 per cent of bicycles are imported from China. We import bicycles from India as well. Covid-19 has had a damaging impact on the country’s economy that also reduced bicycle import,’’ he added.

Locally produced Duranta Bicycle’s showroom manager at Mohammadpur Md Ashikur Rahman also said there is a rise in demand for bicycles and most customers want bicycles priced between Tk,10,000 and Tk 12,000.

Many other bicycle sellers told The Business Post that imported bicycles, mostly from China and India, have witnessed more demands than others for their eye-catching designs and reasonable price. But those bikes are not much available in the local market right now.

“The global bicycle market was valued at $60,707.02 million in 2020 and is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 4.20 per cent during the forecast period (2021-2026), according to a recent report published by Mordor Intelligence, an India based market intelligence and advisory firm.

“There’s a significant growth in the demand for bicycles due to Covid-19 as now consumers try to avoid public transportation fearing contracting the coronavirus. Moreover, with growing health-conscious consumers, bicycles are now seen as an increasingly dependable and healthy mobility option,” explained the report.

The report also said that bicycle sales have been booming across much of the world during the coronavirus crisis, with many local and national governments either starting or accelerating plans for catering to cyclists.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is giving the retailers a boost as consumers avoid public transport because of the risk of infection. For example, Bicycle maker Stevens in Hamburg, Germany, confirms that manufacturers are currently experiencing a complete sellout of their products,” the report added.