The country’s glass industry is growing at 8-10% per year, mainly due to the growth of commercial building projects, with local companies meeting 90% of domestic demand, industry players say.
The annual demand for glass is 250 million square feet, and the annual production capacity of private and public glass manufacturers is 32 million square feet.
About three decades ago the glass industry was completely dependent on imports. The Bangladesh Glass Merchant Association says that although some high quality glass are imported according to the demand of the buyers, the overall reliance on imports has decreased as local companies can manufacture almost all types of glass.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau, glass exports have been on the rise for the past few years. The target for glass and glassware exports was $ 1.3 million in FY 2018-19, but exports reached $ 1.43 million, 14.4% higher than the previous fiscal year.
In the 2019-20 fiscal year, glass and glassware worth $ 3.5 million were exported against the target of 2 million, which is 144.76% more than the previous year.
Moreover, the growth of glass and glassware exports in the first eight months of the current financial year was 108.53%, amounting to 5.38 million against the target of $ 3.27 million.
Exports reached $ 2.58 million in the first eight months of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The current size of the glass industry is around Tk. 1,500-2,000 crore.
The most common types of glasses used for commercial purposes include flat, plexiglass, tempered, laminated, wired (wire mesh), tinted, insulated, spandrel, and security glasses.
The PHP family and Nasir Group invested in float glass used in commercial buildings in 2005 and 2006, respectively. They dominate the glass market, meeting about 70% of total demand, while other companies hold the remaining 30%.
So, it can be said that glass industry has a great potential for the growth of our economy.
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