Manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP keeps rising
The sector now employs about 5.47 million workers
Manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP keeps rising
The sector now employs about 5.47 million workers
Workers busy at a battery manufacturing factory in Dhaka recently Collected
Tribune Report
March 8, 2022 10:52 PM
The contribution by the manufacturing sector to the GDP is rising, a survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) shows.
The survey found that the manufacturing sector added Tk4,534.92 billion to the country’s GDP in the 2018-19 fiscal year, up from Tk1,562.94 billion seven years ago.
It also found that there are now about 5.47 million active workers in the four categories of the sector — small, very small, medium, and large. In FY11, that number had been about 50 million.
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So, in the span of seven years, employment in the sector has gone up by about 400,000 people.
BBS officials said that the manufacturing sector is now the main tool for GDP growth.
Analyzing the survey data, BBS found that besides Dhaka, small factories are being set up in the district towns as well, with little capital.
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Moreover, the number of medium and large industries are also gradually increasing in the country.
For example, from January 7 to February 7, some 57 new factories have been set up in Gazipur district alone.
However, the survey was conducted by BBS on the basis of data from FY19. According to BBS, they conducted the survey on 8,533 industries in the country on a random choice basis.
The survey also found that about 55% of the manufacturing factories have so far received loans from various financial institutions, and the remaining 45% are out of credit facilities.
The government agency also said that large industries dominate access to loans while the small businesses are deprived of credit.
According to the survey, there are now 46,110 manufacturing factories in Bangladesh.
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Among them, 2,856 are large factories, 3,178 are medium, 23,308 are small, and 16,070 are very small (micro) factories.
About 72% of the large industrial units have received loans while 62% of medium-sized factories have received loans from financial institutions.
However, only 48% of small enterprises have received financial assistance from the financial sector but 52% of them did not get any loan facility.
Meanwhile, a number of trade bodies, entrepreneurs, and experts said that the big industrial entrepreneurs got more loans from the government incentive package during the pandemic.
Even the FBCCI, the apex body of traders, has complained at various meetings and seminars that the small entrepreneurs did not get the required loans like the big ones.
The BBS survey also said that the small factories lag behind in getting regular loans, apart from the incentive packages.
The survey also focused on issues like industrial waste; it said 70% of large-scale factories have their own waste management.
In contrast, in the case of small and micro-factories, only 30% of them have waste management facilities.
According to the BBS survey, the total fixed assets of these four categories of factories amount to Tk244,904 crore.
Among them, large factories have the largest fixed assets worth a total of Tk172,000 crore.
The fixed assets of the medium sized factories amount to Tk30,236 crore, while that of small factories are worth Tk33,605 crore.
The fixed assets of very small factories amount to Tk875 crores, said the BBS survey.
The BBS said that the industry's fixed assets include machinery used in manufacturing, land, land development, buildings for setting up factories, vehicles, and other physical infrastructure.
Among the fixed assets, machinery holds the lion’s portion, followed by land.
According to the survey, the manufacturing sector paid corporate tax worth of Tk3,051 crore in FY19. Of these, the large-scale industrial units paid Tk2,275 crore, while medium factories and small factories paid Tk22 crore and Tk54 crore, respectively, as corporate tax.
The manufacturing sector also paid indirect taxes worth Tk28,270 crore in the same financial year.
Among them, large units paid the most indirect tax of Tk25,328 crore whereas medium and small units paid Tk1,046 crore and 1,634 crore, respectively.
According to the, people involved in the micro-factories said that 93% of them collect raw materials from local sources.
Among small enterprises, 83% collect raw materials from domestic sources whereas 63% and 44% of medium and large factories collect raw materials from domestic sources, respectively
