FBCCI calls for export duty cut on melamine products

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) leaders on Monday called upon the government to reduce duty on melamine products to 10 per cent from the current rate of 35 per cent to boost export volume.

Melamine products manufacturers and exporters said they have to pay 35 per cent duty while exporting the products to Nepal, which is only 10 per cent for the Indian exporters.

A level-playing field is needed to compete with Indian products in the Nepalese market, they said.

They made the call at the first meeting of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Plastic, Rubber, Melamine and PVC products in the FBCCI auditorium in the capital.

Entrepreneurs from the plastic sector urged the government to make a harassment-free business environment caused by the people from the government agencies.

The speakers said the government agencies had not been renewing licenses of plastic products manufacturing factories since the fire incidents at Churihatta in the capital.

As the factories are losing their legal validity, the government organizations slap fines and sometimes even file cases against the factory owners.

Therefore, many small and medium industries have been shut down, they claimed.

Committee Chairman and President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA) Shamim Ahmed informed that waste management is the biggest challenge for the plastic sector.

Bangladesh will be able to utilize the huge potential in this sector if the challenge is properly dealt with.

There is a $600 billion global market for plastic products. Of which, Bangladesh tapped into $1.2 billion- less than 1 percent. Therefore, it’s necessary to explore new avenues for exporting Bangladeshi plastic products, Shamim said.

He informed that there is a market of Tk40, 000 crore for plastic products with annual 20 per cent growth rate in the country.

As the chief guest, FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said, Plastic industry contributes to employment, export earnings and industry decentralization across the country.

He stressed expanding the export base to deal with the current global crisis and urged the government to harness the untapped potentials of the plastic sector.

Vice President Md Amin Helaly said FBCCI is planning to arrange three fairs in Kolkata, Guwahati and Tripura to showcase Bangladeshi products.

He suggested exhibiting plastic products in those fairs. Bangladeshi plastic products have great demand in seven sisters of India.

Director in-Charge of the committee Abu Motaleb said conspiracy is still going on against the plastic sector.

The committee will work in solving tax and environmental problems, he informed. He called for eco-friendly production as well.

FBCCI Director Priti Chakraborty urged the government to provide proper policy support in grooming this sector and demanded for reducing

vat from 15% per cent to 3 per cent in the PVC sector, reintroduction of package VAT, declaring rubber product as agro-product, separate HS code for spare parts used in toy production.