The lack of market information, limited facility for testing and standardisation and unavailability of raw materials are the major challenges for strengthening the motor cycle industry's backward linkage, an official said on Wednesday.
Keeping this in view, he suggested categorising motorcycle components, conducting more research while ensuring low-cost finance for the light engineering sector's entrepreneurs.
The suggestions were made by director of Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Center, or BITAC Dr Syed Md Ihsanul Karim who presented the keynote paper at a webinar titled 'Light engineering sector: Backward linkage development perspectives in the motorcycle industry,' organised by the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF).
K M Ali Azam, secretary to the ministry of industries, joined the event as the chief guest, while Syed Golam Kibria, member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Anwar Hossain Chowdhury, director general of the BITAC, joined it as the special guests.
In his speech, Mr Azam said the Prime Minister declared light engineering to be the product of the year for the development of the sector.
"There is no alternative to industrialisation and developing the light engineering sector in a bid to achieve the country's economic goal of achieving a developed country status by 2041," he said.
Highlighting the local motorcycle manufacturing ventures, Mr Azam said the industry heavily depends on the huge number of parts, mostly supplied by backward linkage.
According to the keynote presentation, the local manufacturing of motorcycles has been gaining momentum in recent years; the sector is heavily dependent on the imported parts.
"Strengthening of the local backward linkage industry could create more employment and reduce manufacturing cost of the two-wheelers significantly," it said.
The ministry of industries introduced the Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018 for the development of the sector, the paper said, adding many components like motorcycle chassis, wheel, brake shoe, and fuel tank are imported from abroad.
Masudur Rahman, chairperson of the SMEF, said there is a demand for light engineering goods worth Tk 700 billion per year in the country, of which only one-third are locally manufactured.
"Light engineering sector in a backward linkage and forward linkage play a vital role for the industrialisation in any country," he said.
It will be difficult for the country to industrialise, innovate and diversify its products unless it ensures the development of the light engineering sector, he added.
Safiqul Islam, the SMEF managing director, Hafizur Rahman Khan, president of the Bangladesh Motorcycle Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and Abdur Razzak, president of Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association, also spoke at the webinar.
