Stakeholders and experts have called the proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, an industry-friendly one, which will “give the local elevator manufacturing sector a boost.”
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the FY23 budget discouraged the import elevators, raising import duties to protect the local entrepreneurs’ investment in the sector.
Mohammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiqui, professor of economics at Dhaka University, said: “Encouraging domestic industry is a prerequisite for sustaining the continuous progress of any country. The local infant industry will be at stake if it needs to compete with others from the beginning.”
In Bangladesh, there is a huge demand for elevators. According to the National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh imported elevators worth Tk707 crore amid Covid in 2020, and the volume jumped to Tk885 crore in 2021.
Demand for elevators is increasing sharply across the country with the growth of the country’s housing industry.
If Bangladesh’s elevator market remains import-dependent, prices will have a serious effect on people’s purchasing power.
But the increase in domestic production will bring the prices down. And the repair of elevators, especially in old houses or buildings, will be easier.
Economist Dr Kazi Khaliquzzaman said: “In the proposed budget, “The import of products, which are manufactured or can be produced in the country, have been discouraged. So, local entrepreneurs and industries will benefit from it.”
Source: United News of Bangladesh