Interviewed By Sumaiya Siddique, MBR Team

MBR: The light engineering industry of Bangladesh has grown over the years. It has been termed as the “Product of the Year” in 2020 by our Honorable Prime Minister. How do you believe this industry contributes towards the country’s GDP and the entire economy?

 Md. Azizar Rahman Milton: Every year we have to import light engineering products for which we have to spend millions of dollars. If we can produce these machinaries domestically, we will be able to reduce the dollar outflow by 75% and we will only need to spend 25% of the existing expenditure in order to import the raw materials. When we will be able to manufacture LEPs at home, the industry will grow and it will create employment opportunities as well. So, if the light engineering industry grows, there will be two things that will be contributing to our GDP:

1. We will need to import less and hence, foreign reserve will stay in our homeland and with the proper utilization of that money, our light engineering industry will develop further;
2. When the industry will grow, it will generate employment opportunity for the youth and hence, par-capita income will increase.

MBR: Light engineering industry is an important sub-sector of the overall manufacturing sectors in Bangladesh and it is fuelling the growth of many other industries of the country. As someone who has experience of working in this industry for many years, what are the challenges you would like to mention that comes from operating in such an industry, how did you overcome them and what are the challenges you are facing in the export process?

 Md. Azizar Rahman Milton: 20 years ago, I went to some outskirt areas of Calcatta, India where I had seen the agriculture machinaries in agricultural fields. After returning to Bangladesh, I started to think how to manufacture such machines and that is point where I started.

When I started to produce, I had to sell on break even and sometimes even in loss in order to capture the market and when I began to export in India, I faced a new challenge and that is Indian people preferred Indian products.

As time passed, the situation changed. Now we have a big market place in India and our product is 100% export quality and we charge a small margin for our products.

Sometimes, it is difficult for my concern to export after fulfilling the local demand. I have inspired some other businessmen in Bogura to export in India after fulfilling the local demand.

MBR: Lack of modern technology and unskilled labor are two of the major challenges in this industry. How can we overcome these obstacles?

Md. Azizar Rahman Milton: Prior to the pandemic, I used to go to India four or five times and Md. Azizar Rahman Milton General Secretary Bogura BSCIC Industry Owner’s Association Interviewed By Sumaiya Siddique, Team MBR 22 of 36 I also used to go to Malaysia, China, Thailand and it can be addressed as my hobby to go to these countries and learn about their manufacturing facilities of light engineering products. I especially went to different provinces of India and China where I found that in each province, there is a training institute and research lab for developing skills and the industry. There is a clear government policy in this regard. In the training centers, need-specific training sessions are conducted: one for the owner, one for the management team and one for the workers.

But in our case, we have self-educated ourselves, through numerous trial and error sessions. Since we do not have adequate technology and training centers:

1. we cannot properly train our labours;
2. there is in in adequate R&D as a result, there is no significant technological advancements in this sector;
3. it becomes very difficult to ensure quality of end product

MBR: BBy nature, the LEI is different from many other manufacturing sectors. Despite having a huge potential, it is said that this sector’s performance is not up to the mark. What initiatives do you think the government should take to overcome these issues?

 Md. Azizar Rahman Milton: There are number of ways through which the government can contribute to take this industry a step ahead. There are some internal obstacles and if these barriers are mitigated, the industry will have steeper growth.

 When someone imports agricultural spare parts or machine, they do not need to pay VAT and Tax as it is finished goods. Now when we import the raw material to produce them locally, we need to pay VAT and Tax on the raw material. When we sell them to customers, we cannot charge VAT and hence, we have to incur greater cost.

 On the other hand, there is no training institution to train people about latest technologies and so, our labours remain unskilled.

Further, it is very expensive to purchase modern machinaries. If the government introduces long term financing opportunity with easy terms and conditions, many businessmen will be able to purchase modern machinaries and produce better quality products.