Countrywide electrification and a rise in people’s purchasing power have massively contributed to the growth of electrical products market, including fan, light, switch, circuit breaker, cable and generator.
From massive electrification in rural areas to booming urbanisation, rising purchasing power of people and the government’s tax incentives – all these have pushed the domestic electrical products market to a five-fold growth in just a decade.
Industry insiders say starting from scratch, the market size has now crossed the Tk7,000 crore mark annually.
The electrical product sector has also reduced dependence on imports to a great extent and generated a lot of employment by drawing in investments to the tune of Tk5,000 crore till now, they add.
Tax break for new investment was another incentive propelling local manufacturing of electrical products.
Mainul Islam Bhuiya, president of the Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise and Manufacturers’ Association, told The Business Standard that many companies, such as Walton, RFL, Energypac, ACI, BD Lamps, Mohammadi Electric, Super Star, BRB, BBS, Partex, Paradise, and MyOne, have stepped up in manufacturing electrical products. Over 2,500 small entrepreneurs have also ventured into it.
Brand companies now meet 50% of the local demand, while non-brand products – both local and imported – cater to the rest, he said.
Countrywide electrification and a rise in people’s purchasing power have massively contributed to the growth of electrical products market, including fan, light, switch, circuit breaker, cable and generator, Mainul Islam noted.
Bangladesh’s power generation capacity has registered a nearly five-time rise to 24,000 megawatts since 2010-11. Almost 100% of the population now have access to electricity and the number of beneficiaries have reached 4.64 crore with a three-fold rise within a decade, according to the Power Division.
On the other hand, per capita income increased to $2,500 from $750.
