LIGHT engineering, which could fetch up to $100 billion from export if properly nourished, warrants that the government should provide the sector with policy support, scopes for investment and the needed infrastructural development. It is in this context, people involved in the sector have called for dedicated industrial parks or zones for the establishment of factories, keeping to global standards, to compete on the international market. The stakeholders have also demanded adequate policy support, which includes tax issues especially on the import of raw materials, at the inauguration of a two-day light engineering exposition held in Dhaka on May 29. The Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners鈥� Association and the Export Competitiveness for Jobs Project of the commerce ministry have organised the exhibition. The commerce secretary, who attended the occasion as chief guest, has said that Bangladesh needs to prioritise engineering and technology export, where the light engineering sector could play an important role. The sector is said to have accounted for 3 per cent of the gross domestic product in the 2022 financial year whilst the apparel sector accounted for 9.25 per cent of the gross domestic product that financial year.
A Bangladesh Investment Development Authority report on the light engineering sector, published in June 2024, shows an almost consistent growth in light engineering product export, beginning with $355.97 million in the 2018 financial year that reached $795.63 million in the 2022 financial year, with a decline in the 2020 financial year. The report, however, shows a decline to $585.85 million in the 2023 financial year. The sector is reported to be generating about Tk 200 billion and the market is reported to be growing at 10 per cent. There are about 7,500 units 鈥� factories, shops and workshops 鈥� at Dholaikhal and Jinjira, the light engineering hubs of the capital city, that employ about 60,000 people. The needed fillip for the sector could create an opportunity for the innovation and diversification of the sector and Bangladesh should seize the opportunity. The commerce secretary at the programme has said that the government wants to meet light engineering entrepreneurs as small changes could improve the industry. The export of light engineering products, which have fetched some money, has remained somewhat stagnant for long. Because the entrepreneurs in the sector are faced with the shortage of capital and have limited connections on the international market. The government should now seriously take note of the barriers that hinder the growth of the light engineering sector.
The government should, therefore, afford the needed fillips to the light engineering sector on issues that have come up to reap the benefits. It should also attend to the issue of skills of the people employed in the sector.