Toy makers seek dedicated zone, govt support

The booming toy industry, which meets 80% of local demand, needs a dedicated zone as well as government's policy support to grow more and grab a good-share of the global market, according to local manufacturers.

Market players say they will be able to expand their production capacity as well as set up backward linkage plants including toy components and mould factories. 

"Currently moulds and different other toy components are being imported for which heavy duty has to be paid," said Shamim Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA). 

Depending on the product, manufacturers have to pay import duties of up to 52%. This increases the price of local toys manifold, he added.

"The estimated toy market size in Bangladesh is around Tk7000 crore, and 80% of this is produced locally. Now manufacturers have eyes on the export market where Bangladesh is still an infant", said the BPGMEA president. 

"Although our toy export is rising each year, to have a big share in the international market we have to compete with China, which holds the highest position of toy export in the world market with around $70 billion, and to do that our product price has to be decreased", Shamim Ahmed explained.

Citing a report of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the BPGMEA president said our export was only $54.39 million in 2020-21. The export had jumped to $69.24 million the following fiscal year. 

In the first six months of the current fiscal year, we made toy exports of $35.61mn, he added. 

Local players believe there is a huge opportunity in the world toy market for them and can serve the government's move to diversify export – all they need is support from the government.  

As per ITC Trade Map projection, the global toys market will be more than $110 billion by 2026. So there is a huge opportunity for Bangladesh to grab a larger portion of the international market, said Shamim Ahmed. 

Bangladesh Toy Merchants, Manufacturers and Importers' Association (BTMMIA) President Shajahan Mozumder said, the toy industry can take-home a big export earning and diversify the country's exports. 

"Many countries are now searching for an alternative to China to import toys. Frequently they are contacting us. But we fail to tie with all of them, because we cannot provide products at the price they ask for," he said.

"So we have to decrease the price and for this we need a duty-free component importing facility and local sources of components," he said, adding, there are some 120 toy factories in Bangladesh. All of them, except 10-12 big ones, are small and medium factories. 

So if the government allotted land for us offering low prices, we might be able to expand our factories along with setting up component and mould factories, continued Mozumder. 

"We might be able to grab a big share of the international market if we get proper support from the government," he said. 

Though the government is providing duty-free import opportunities for some toy components, the manufacturers sought the facility for all kinds of toy components.  

"The number of components we need is not capped. Everyday toy designs are being developed and new components are required," said BPGMEA president Shamim Ahmed.

"So, we call on the government to provide a duty-free component import facility creating a dedicated Harmonized System (HS) code [standardised numerical method of classifying traded products] on toy components," he said.