Could bicycle be the next big export earner for Bangladesh?
Image: Collected
As commuters across the world prioritise public distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, many persons are opting to employ bicycles rather than public transport.
This trend has been favourable to Bangladesh, as bicycle exports have already been steadily riding uphill amid the pandemic as the export of several other products has been on the decline.
Bangladesh exported bicycles worth $84 million against a concentrate of $85 million on the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to info by the Export Advertising Bureau (EPB).
In fiscal 2019-20, exports were $82.6 million against a target of $100 million.
However, in the primary eight months of fiscal 2020-21, Bangladesh has recently acquired $84.58 million from bicycle exports -- a 40 % year-on-year growth.
“The sector is doing well in exports. It really is difficult to look for the total sum of bicycles exported by distinct companies. However, our organisation can be experiencing positive growth,” explained Md Luthful Bari, director of procedures of Meghna Group, a significant bicycle exporter in the united states.
Back 2017, Bangladesh became the third-most significant exporter of bicycles to the UK and the EU, according to data published by Eurostat.
And recently, the utilization of bicycles has gone further up found in Europe due to the rising severity of coronavirus in the region, said exporters.
At the moment, eight companies in the united states export bicycles, two of which are on the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ). Besides, there are bike manufacturing companies in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Sylhet.
Malaysian company Alita (BD) pioneered bicycle exports on Chittagong back 1995 with the export of 37,000 bicycles to the UK.
Within the last five years, a lot more than 8 lakh bicycles were exported by Alita (BD), explained its General Manager AHM Ferdous.
Initially, there have been about 150 workers, however now there are 400 personnel. Since its inception, the company has exported about 25 lakh bicycles to EU countries.
Usually mountain bikes, city bikes, and BMS bikes are exported to these countries. These bikes spectrum in cost from $60 to $160 per unit.
About 30 to 40 per cent of the raw materials to make these bicycles result from China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Ferdous added.
“Our bicycles are becoming more obtainable in EU countries. The bikes we generate also have locations in England, Poland, and Spain. Exports are increasing each year. Although this was the 1st export-oriented factory in Chittagong, nowadays various companies are also manufacturing bicycles for export in Dhaka,” Ferdous said.
"We have plans to create more high-quality bikes along with electric bikes later on," he added.
At the Alita (BD) factory in CEPZ, bicycles are manufactured from scratch. Initially, 5,000 mm iron sheets bought as raw materials are cut in line with the size of the bike. Then the sheets are cured for longevity.
The treated frames are then painted in several colours and various stickers are mounted on them. Bicycle chains, rings, and wheels of different sizes are in that case packaged separately for every unit.
About 500 to 600 bicycles are produced at the factory each day, said Debashish Chowdhury, a supervisor in the factory who has been working there since 1995.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com
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