The market of the sports goods in Bangladesh is growing steadily thanks to the rising popularity of the sports and fitness activities, said the industry insiders.
They said that growing health consciousness among people is a key factor driving the market鈥簊 growth.
MR Shamim, president of the Bangladesh Sports Goods Merchants, Manufacturers and Importers Association, told 抖阴精品 that the annual turnover of the country鈥簊 sports markets is around Tk1,000-Tk1,500 crore and the growth rate is about 6-10 per cent annually.
He also said that Bangladeshi sports equipment primarily rely on imported items, which covers almost 70 per cent of the total sport market, while the domestic manufacturers meet the demand for the rest 30 per cent.
According to the Chittagong Custom House data, Bangladeshi importers imported some major sports items, including a cricket bat, cricket ball, game pad, badminton racket, table tennis racket, gym equipment, and others, worth $25.67 million in July-April of the financial year 2024-25.
Meanwhile, according to the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh exports golf shafts to different countries.
In FY24, the country exported golf shafts worth $16.38 million, said the EPB data. In July-March of FY25, Bangladesh bagged $14.82 million.
According to market insiders, the two largest wholesale markets for sports accessories in the country are the Cooperative Twin Tower Sports Market
and the Railway Super Market in Gulistan area of the capital.
Moreover, there are almost 5,000 shops selling export accessories across the country, and about 50,000 people are employed in this sector.
MR Shamim said that the top demanded sports items are football and football-related accessories, exercise-related equipment, cricket-related equipment and badminton equipment.
The badminton-related sports equipment market usually gets momentum during the winter, when the youth spend their time playing badminton.
The sector鈥簊 traders usually import the most items from China, India, Thailand, Pakistan, and other countries, where a small portion of items are produced domestically.
MKS Sports of Rajshahi manufactures ICC-approved cricket bats. The manufacturing unit is owned by national team cricketers Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Imrul Kayes.
MR Shamim also said that the popularity of European football in the country has accelerated the sports item market. A significant number of online and physical shops now sell jerseys, flags, and footballs of renowned European clubs.
A representative of the online shop Jersey Freak BD said that due to growing demand, they import jerseys, flags, tracksuits, winter wear, and boots from European clubs and have a large customer base.
Mehedi Hasan, a sales representative of Shah Sports at Gulistan, said that during the peak season, sales touch Tk聽1 lakh daily. He also said that though sales declined during Covid-19, they returned to normalcy during the Qatar World Cup.
MR Shamim said that during the football world cups, the sale of sports accessories experiences a significant surge 鈥� from Tk聽700 crore to Tk聽1,000 crore.
He also said that the market has not grown as expected due to the decreasing number of sports grounds in the capital and across the country.
The sales during the cricket World Cup also increased like the football World Cups, he said.
