The news of continued graduation of the country's toy-making sector from its novitiate will surely make many feel upbeat. As the industry stands now, it indicates high potential for fast expansion. Given the present favourable situation, the toy-makers have begun eying a global market. This has been gleaned from a report published in this newspaper on February 27 last. Exposed to mind-boggling foreign toys in the market, children, especially those in the cities, cannot be expected to stay content with outdated products. Local toy-makers in comfortable numbers have stepped in with their technologically improved products. Investments in the industry continue to go up, and the entrepreneurs look to enhancing their capacity by using foreign technology, that of Chinese in particular. The industry plans to double its investment in the sector to Tk 20 billion by 2020. It boasts meeting nearly 60 per cent of demand for toys in the country. This progress speaks of the creation of a wide local market.
The toy sector is looking up steadily. Against this backdrop, its performance deserves a broader focus from the policy makers. In spite of the fledgling industry's bright prospects, it is hamstrung by a lot of disincentives. The sector now comprises 100 units with around 20,000 workers. The livelihood of around 2.0 million people is hinged on the industry. There are flipsides, too. Notwithstanding the industry's expectation to see its total investment soar past Tk 20 billion in a few years, it's crippled by constraints. Difficulty in getting trade licences, and the high rate of import duty on raw materials are two of them. On the other hand, three foreign-owned factories, one being a Chinese, are located in export processing and economic zones. Targeting the European countries, they exported toys worth $15.8 million in fiscal year (FY) 2016-17. Total foreign investment in the sector is slated to increase exponentially by 2020. With the flurry of economic activity seen in the sector, the local industry deserves to be bailed out of its lacklustre state.
The Chinese eagerness to invest in the Bangladesh toy sector stems from a new development in that country. The government has started viewing the industry as being less important with little profit. It may lead to the shutting down of the industry now being considered small by the government. Being a developing country, eying the higher middle-income status, Bangladesh has been offered a timely opportunity by China. In a bid to utilise the situation, the country's toy industry entrepreneurs now, perhaps unwittingly, seek to collaborate with their Chinese counterparts. As they view it, these collaborative ventures will inject the badly needed funds and technological fillip into the country's emerging toy industry.
However, it still has a long way to go. For, the country's toy industry is generally beset with shortcomings in terms of the products' technological finesse and the overall quality. Compared with the highly digitised and attractive toys, the products of Bangladesh may not find a remarkable space in the overseas market. Moreover, child-friendliness and safety are considered two major prerequisites for toys in the developed nations for market entries. True, Bangladesh toys are now smarter and more tempting to children. But the fast advancing IQ of children in the developed countries ought also to be kept in mind. Product sophistication, thus, has no substitute.
