The local ceramic manufacturers are in a fix as the recent government decisions went against the interest of their industry amid Covid-19 pandemic, industry insiders have said. They said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on June 23 issued an order, reducing the tariff rates on imported ceramic tiles that will create an uneven competition for local products. Besides, the government in the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 proposed 10 per cent supplementary duty (SD) on locally made sanitary ware that will increase the manufacturing cost. “The decisions would certainly hinder the growth of the potential ceramic manufacturing sector in the country,” said MdShirajul Islam Mollah, president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA). Terming the sector still a growing one, he said that once the country used to import 100 per cent of the ceramic ware to meet the local demand. Now the sector is nearly self-reliant to meet the local demand and has started widening export market in the recent years, noted Mr Mollah, who is also Managing Director of China-Bangla Ceramic Limited. “Such disfavouring decisions would exacerbate the state of the local industries while they are already hit badly due to the Covid-19 crisis,” he said. Imposing 10 per cent SD on sanitary ware means welcoming an unreasonable competition for our local industry as the price will go higher compared to the imported items, he added. On the other hand, tariff reduction on the imported tiles will pave the way for further influx of foreign merchandise, jeopardising the local ones, he said. The NBR’s statutory regulatory order (SRO) regarding imported tiles became effective since June 11 last. As per the SRO, the tariff on imported tiles has been reduced by US$1.0 per metre. The BCMEA president also said it appeared to be an intentional decision for holding back the growth of local ceramic industry. He said the BCMEA will also approach authorities concerned, including the NBR chairman, to duly address the issue. Survival of the local industry is essential for the interest of the huge number of employees in the sector as well, he added. The number of employment — direct and indirect — in the sector is estimated by the BCMEA to be more than 0.5 million. According to the trade body, 61 local ceramic manufacturers, out of total 68, are currently operating in the country having investment of around Tk 90 billion. These include 20 tableware, 30 tiles and 18 sanitary ware manufacturers. The local industries are capable of manufacturing more than 205 million square metres of tile, 14.35 million pieces of sanitary ware and 257 million pieces of tableware annually as of fiscal year (FY) 2018-19. The local manufacturers meet 80 per cent of the local demand for ceramics products and the demand has been increasing at 20 per cent on an average for the last few years, as per the trade body. According to data available with the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the export earnings from the sector declined by 60.57 per cent in the July-May period of the outgoing (2019-20) fiscal year. However, the growth trajectory has recently been curved down due to the countrywide shutdown after the coronavirus spread. The sector had made a hefty positive growth of 32.79 per cent in the FY 2018-19 compared to the corresponding period of the previous FY.
