$51m Earned Thru' Export Of Plastic Products In Jul-Mar.

The country had earned a total of US$50.06 million in first nine months of the current fiscal year (2010-2011) by exporting plastic products against the target of $38.82 million. Growth of export performance over export target for the period was 28.95 per cent. Plastic products worth $36.53 million were exported during the corresponding period of last fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

The export earning from the sector during the first nine months of the current fiscal was 37.04 per cent more than that of the corresponding period of the fiscal.

"There are around 3000 plastic goods manufacturing companies in the country, where nearly 400 are export-oriented enterprises. Plastic industries currently have employed around half a million people," Ferdous Wahid, former president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), Friday said to the FE.

He said, "now we are exporting plastic items to Italy, New Zealand, Poland, China, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the USA, Canada, Spain, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other countries."

There are 3000 plastic industries in the country, of which 70 are large, 980 medium and 1,950 small.

Among the plastic industries, 65 per cent are based in Dhaka while 20 per cent in Chittagong, 10 per cent in Narayanganj and five per cent are in Khulna, Comilla, Bogra and Rajshahi, the BPGMEA said.

Mr Wahid said, Bangladesh is now exporting plastic shopping bags, garbage bags, butcher bags, stove sacks, industrial films, PVC pipes, polythene sheet, plastic hanger, hand gloves, ropes, plastic waste, V-belt, toys, electronic switches, polyester thread, computer accessories, video/audio cassette, melamine table ware, toothbrush, ball pen and artificial flower etc.

He said, plastic products are popularly used as household items, table ware, kitchen ware, office equipment, toiletries, packaging, building materials, engineering parts, industrial equipment, agricultural products, poultry and fishing equipments, automobile and cycle parts, electronics, textiles articles and musical products.

With the growth of plastic manufacturing sector, plastic industries have been successfully exporting plastic products to the developed countries, Mr Wahid said.

Nearly one hundred per cent of the plastic packaging materials used by the exporters of Bangladesh are supplied by the local plasticindustries, sources said.

The use of plastic products is growing with the development of the country. The volume of plastic wastes is also growing. At least, 60 per cent of plastic wastes are being recycled in the country that save about $400 million a year, the BPGMEA said.

Source : thefinancialexpress-bd.com