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The 14th International Plastic Fair (IPF) -2019, on its second day on Friday, has become a platform to link the country's plastic manufacturers with distributors.
The local plastic manufacturers said that the fair has given them the unique opportunity to see the latest plastic machinery, technologies and raw materials.
IPF is jointly organised by the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) and Trade & Marketing Service Co Ltd at International Convention City, Bashundhara (ICCB).
IPF brought together more than 460 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions around the world, including Australia, Austria, China and host Bangladesh.
Exhibitors have been showcasing their wide range of products and technologies in 780 booths at the fair.
Talking to the FE, BPGMEA president Md Jashim Uddin said the country's plastic manufacturers can buy, examine or place their requirements to the machinery distributors and manufacturers at the fair.
It is quite hard for small plastic companies to go abroad to buy or assess capital machinery and raw materials; so, IPF will greatly benefit them, he added.
Bengal Group of Companies has set up a stall at the fair venue with its seven plastic concerns.
Md Rajibul Hasan, an executive (corporate sales), of the company, said all the concerns of Bengal Group have been displaying new products for domestic and industrial use.
Foreign participants at the fair mostly offer manufacturing solutions to the Bangladesh market, latest technologies and raw materials.
Talking to the FE, Christine Chong, sales consultant of China-based Jinming Machinery (Guangdong) Co Ltd, said Bangladesh is a huge potential market for her company due to its growing plastic industries.
The company has been showcasing different types of blown film machines and cast film machines which are getting good response from the local plastic manufacturers, she added.
Alauddin Ahmed, country director of France-based Emeraude, a plastic raw materials manufacturer, said his company has been operating in Bangladesh for last ten years and seeing constant growth from them.
The fair has been a fantastic opportunity for the company to meet new customers apart from existing one, he mentioned.
There are seven main categories of exhibits including plastics and rubber machinery, raw materials, printing machinery, packaging machinery, machinery parts and accessories, quality detection instruments and equipments.
BPGMEA leaders said that they have prepared a roadmap for 2030, estimating that annual plastic consumption per person would rise to 34kgs from existing 5.0kg.
Industry insiders said there are around 5,000 plastic manufacturers in the country that have employed around 120,000 people.
According to BPGMEA data, Bangladesh exported plastic goods worth of US$ 600.49 million in 2017-18 fiscal, which was 1.64 per cent of the country's total exports of $ 36.66 billion.