The lead-acid battery industry, which has grown three to four times in the last decade and is valued at BDT 10,000 crore currently, serves a wide variety of purposes without which portability and mobility would have never been a possibility. Solar panels, easy bikes, battery-run rickshaws, passenger transports, commercial vehicles, IPS, UPS, and telecommunication towers—all these either run on batteries or require batteries as power storage. The fact that the lead-acid battery industry exported around USD 29 million worth of batteries on average in the last five fiscal years makes the industry a potential contributor to our foreign exchange earnings as well.
It is not unknown that the industry faces controversies due to the unregulated manufacturing and recycling operations of some market players. Just like many other industries dependent on imports of raw materials, the rising dollar price has affected the industry adversely. On top of that, the potential emergence of the local lithium battery industry may bring additional challenges. However, policymakers should come forward to create a conducive business environment for this decades-old industry and regularise the unregulated players to minimise the associated environmental and health risks and boost the country’s tax revenues.
Md. Shah Jalal
Editor
IDLC Monthly Business Review