The country’s accumulator battery industries sought a financial help of Tk 2,000 crore from the government to overcome the adverse impact of coronavirus outbreak on the sector. Of the proposed support, they wanted Tk 400 crore as grant and the remaining one as loan from the bailout package announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Accumulator Battery Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (ABMEAB), a representing body of the battery industries in the country, placed the proposal to the Commerce Ministry on April 9 describing the narratives of the industries passing through the coronavirus-related crisis. It said there are 22 battery-manufacturing industries in the country producing light engineering products and exporting to 59 countries after meeting local demands. It has a market size of Tk 10,000 crore. Terming the sector as labour-intensive one, it said about 100,000 people are directly and indirectly employed in the sector. The Prime Minister has already announced the accumulator battery as “Year Product of 2020” considering its huge potentials. The Prime Minister’s announcement boosted the investment in the sector and created a big opportunity to help reach the government’s export target of $60 billion, said the manufacturers. “But the investment in the sector is now being impeded by the emergence of Covid-19. As a result, the manufacturers could not implement their investment plan, thus creating a kind of fear in economic development,” said the ABMEAB. The battery manufacturers said they have already experienced a financial loss of more than Tk 500 crore in developing export market while Tk 1,000 crore loss due to uncontrolled business by illegal battery manufacturers and recyclers. “While a level-playing field in the business is being seriously hampered by the illegal manufacturers, the Covid-19 has come as new disaster as industries had to suspend their manufacturing units as per the government’s order considering the safety of the workers,” said the ABMAB adding that the sector has already incurred a loss of over Tk 500 crore. This has had a big impact on the export business as many orders were cancelled, putting the entire industry into an enormous financial loss, ABMEAB said in a letter submitted to Commerce Ministry. “In such a situation, we need both policy support and financial help,” said Munawar Moin, president of the ABMEAB. Appreciating the Prime Minister’s announcement of stimulus package of Tk 72,750 crore which includes loan for small and medium industries as working capital, he said, the battery industry needs long-term loan as financial help.
