General Secretary’s Message

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Welcome to our official website of Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA).

In recent years, ceramic industries in Bangladesh have grown to become one of the largest. It is playing a great role in our country's export earnings. Bangladesh's ceramics industry has carved a niche in the global market and earns more than USD 42 million through exports. Of the different ceramic products, tableware is exported to more than 50 countries including the US, Canada, European Union, Australia; tiles to India, Nepal and Bhutan; and sanitary ware to the Middle East, especially to the UAE. Tableware accounts for more than 90 percent of Bangladesh's ceramics export.

The global ceramics industry is worth more than $10 billion. Bangladesh produces a high-quality bone china. 60 High grade ceramic manufacturers are operating in Bangladesh, creating employment of 0.5 million. Investment in this sector is worth USD 462 million with the possibility of expanding. Bangladesh faced a demand worth USD 250 million & we produced USD 233 million worth of products in June, 2017.

One of the main challenges to the growth of the ceramics industry is inadequate supply of natural gas. Natural gas is one of the vital issue to maintain the quality of the products and it does not contain any Sulphur which makes our ceramic products look brighter and shinier.

There is a shortage of raw materials for ceramic goods in Bangladesh. Moreover, the ceramic companies have to bear a huge amount of cost due to duties and advance income tax on the import of these raw materials. So our demand to the government is zero-duty benefits on the import of raw materials and a 25 percent incentive on exports like the garments industry. We also feel the urgent need for developing the port and communication facilities to fast-track import of raw materials and delivery of finished products.

Bangladesh's ceramics industry has experienced a 200 percent growth in production in the last five years. The industry is also remarked to expand rapidly in the global market due to ensuring high-quality products, the low labor costs and multifarious creative entrepreneurs. Due to rising labor costs and the ongoing global financial crisis, more orders are being placed to low-cost countries like Bangladesh. In terms of quality Bangladeshi ceramics can easily compete with the products of its close competitors China and India. Now, if the industry gets proper incentives and support from the government, it has all the potential to be one of the top ceramics-exporting countries in the world. Much like the garments industry, this would be another manufacturing success for Bangladesh.

I hope this website will become an important resource for the Ceramic people, all members of the Association, involved in the various corners of the ceramic industry and others.