Tag: Bangladesh

Bidi Workers Demand Protection Against Cigarettes

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Bidi workers in Bangladesh formed a human chain on June 21 outside of the Pabna Deputy Commissioner’s office, demanding protection against competition from “foreign” cigarettes, reports The New Nation.
According to the leaders of the group, the biggest competitors to bidis are low-quality cigarettes, which are mostly owned by foreign companies and have not been set to increase in price much in the 2022/2023 budget.
“Bidi industry is a domestic worker-friendly industry,” the group leaders said. “Bidi is a 100 percent indigenous technology-based industry. On the other hand, everything in cigarettes is imported from abroad and depends on technology. Foreign multinational companies are smuggling thousands of crores of rupees by burning the lungs of the people of this country.
“If all kinds of conspiracies against the domestic bidi industry, including the withdrawal of discriminatory advance income tax, are not stopped, we will be forced to wage a fierce agitation.”
After the protest, the leaders of the group presented a memorandum to the prime minister through the deputy commissioner of Pabna.
The group demanded an increase in the price of low-quality cigarettes, withdrawal of a 10 percent tax on bidis, and legislation to protect bidi workers.
June 22, 2022
Bangladesh: MPs Want Tobacco-Free Country

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About 40 Members of Parliament (MPs) adopted a declaration to achieve tobacco-free status in Bangladesh by 2040, according to The Dhaka Tribune.
MP Habibe Millat presented the declaration at a media briefing on May 20, 2022, in Cox’s Bazar. The three-day Conference on Achieving a Tobacco-Free Bangladesh by 2040 was organized by the Bangladesh Parliamentary Forum for Health and Well-Being (BPFHW) at the Sea Pearl Resort. The conference was organized in association with the Shastho Shurokkha Foundation and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) Bangladesh.
Signed by Habibe, chairman of the BPFHW, the 16-point declaration acknowledged the progress on the commitment so far, recognized the urgent need for action and recommended some key actions to realize the vision.
Officials noted progress through the Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act 2005, as amended in 2013, and the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Rules 2006 and 2015, which led to a reduction in overall adult smoking rates from 43.3 percent in 2009 to 35.3 percent in 2017.
May 23, 2022
BAT invests in Bangladesh

Photo: Piotr Pawinski
British American Tobacco will invest BDT5.74 billion ($66.55 million) in its Savar, Bangladesh, operations to cater to export opportunities and create contingency capacity, reports The Daily Star.
The announcement follows a BDT5.14 billion investment in 2021 to increase the facility’s production capacity.
“With an eye on future exports, the board has approved an investment of about Tk 574 crore to further expand the Savar factory’s production capacity,” said Sheikh Shabab Ahmed, head of external affairs at BATBC.
“We believe with the improved capacity we will be equipped for any future demand,” he added.
In 2021, the company’s net turnover rose 24 percent to BDT74.87 billion, up from BDT60.29 billion the previous year, according to its annual report. In the same period, BAT Bangladesh logged profits of BDT14.96 billion, up 37.5 percent over that posted in 2020.
BATBC has cigarette factories in Dhaka and Savar, a green leaf threshing plant in Kushtia, a green leaf re-drying plant in Manikganj, and a number of leaf and sales offices throughout the country.
April 4, 2022
Bangladesh Investigates BAT’s Dominance

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Japan Tobacco International has accused BAT Bangladesh of anti-competitive practices, reports The Daily Star. The Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) is investigating the complaint.
United Dhaka Tobacco Company (UDTCL) alleges in the complaint that BATB abuses its dominant position. JTI filed the case in March 2021, three years after entering Bangladesh’s tobacco market by acquiring UDTCL for $1.47 billion in 2018 from Akij Group.
When JTI entered Bangladesh, UDTCL had a 19.8 percent share in the cigarette market, which has now dropped to 12.6 percent. JTI alleges this is due to BATB’s anti-competitive practices.
BATB is the leading cigarette seller in the country followed by JTI and Abul Khair Tobacco.
BATB had a more than 95 percent share in the premium and “high” segment of the market, according to a 2019 study. Its share in medium and low segments was 65 percent and 58 percent, respectively.
JTI alleges that BATB operates a program with its retailers to prevent competition in the market and stop rivals from gaining more market access. Under the alleged program, if a BATB partner retailer stocks or sells United Dhaka Tobacco products, BATB or its representatives penalize or deduct loyalty points from the retailers or threaten to stop supplying products to the retailers.
“BATB runs the program directly and/or indirectly through its representative and/or distributor,” said JTI, adding that it earlier requested BATB to put an end to all programs and acts that restrict competition.
BATB denied the allegations, according to the JTI complaint.
Md Mofizul Islam, the chairperson of the BCC, says the commission is investigating the case. “We will try to give a verdict as soon as possible after holding a hearing.”
January 24, 2022
BAT Invests in Bangladesh

Photo: Piotr Pawinski
BAT is investing BDT322 crore ($38 million) in its Savar, Bangladesh, factory to help meet growing demand from abroad, reports the Daily Star.
It’s the company’s second local investment in six months. In February, the cigarette manufacturer announced an investment of BDT192.50 crore to increase its manufacturing capacity.
Commercial operations at the plant are expected to start in October.
BAT Bangladesh in recent months sent products to China, the Maldives and other countries despite the challenges of the pandemic, according to company Secretary Azizur Rahman.
Net revenue from BAT’s Bangladeshi operations rose 25 percent to BDT3,841 crore. During the same period, its profits rose 43 percent to BDT862 crore.
Performance was driven by growth in volume offset by growth in operating expenses.
July 30, 2021
Bangladesh: Smokeless Tobacco Avoiding Tax

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Less than half of smokeless tobacco (SLT) factories in Bangladesh pay taxes, reports the Dhaka Tribune, citing a recent study by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). Of the 483 factories in the country, only 218 are paying taxes.
Some of these manufacturers do not have valid trade licenses: Of the 88 manufacturers surveyed over 29 districts of the country’s eight administrative divisions, who are out of the tax net, 33 percent did not have valid licenses.
The study also showed that 91 percent of manufacturers produce smokeless tobacco products manually and that they are primarily manufactured in small, unmarked factories or houses.
“SLT use should be reined in for the sake of revenues and public health,” said Zakia Sultana, National Board of Revenue member. “Reducing SLT use would also reduce health sector expenditure.”
The study identified the informal nature of smokeless tobacco production as the main impediment in ensuring tax compliance in this sector.
April 6, 2021
Bangladesh: New Factory Draws Ire

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Health activists have criticized plans to build a new tobacco factory in Bangladesh, reports The Financial Express.
Asian Tobacco recently signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) to establish a modern cigarettes and tobacco processing plant in the Ishwardi Export Processing Zone.
The company will reportedly invest $2 billion to produce 1.2 billion cigarettes and 73,205 kg of tobacco annually.
Voices for Interactive Choice & Empowerment (VOICE) said the move goes directly against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision to make Bangladesh a tobacco-free nation by 2040.
“Permitting a tobacco company to establish a new factory in the country directly contradicts with the prime minister’s vision and what she said back in 2016 in the South Asian Speaker’s Summit on achieving the sustainable development goals,” said VOICE Executive Director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud.
“If things continue this way, becoming a tobacco-free country by 2040 will remain as a dream.”

December 29, 2020
Bidi Industry Protests Bangladesh Tax Hike

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Bidi industry representatives have asked the government of Bangladesh to reverse a recent tax hike on bidis, citing economic hardship, reports The Dhaka Tribune. They also demanded an increase in tax on low-quality and medium-quality factory-made cigarettes, which compete with their products.

Recently, the government increased the tax on a pack of bidis by 4 percent, prompting many bidi factories to cease production.

To press their demands, bidi workers formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club on Sunday. During the event, some speakers suggested cigarette manufacturers were conspiring against the bidi industry by lobbying to keep cigarette taxes comparatively low.
September 14, 2020
Bangladesh Allows Tobacco Production to Continue

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The industries ministry in Bangladesh has rejected a request from the health ministry to shut down production of tobacco in the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The health ministry sent a request earlier this week to the industries ministry to revoke the special permissions granted to tobacco companies to continue producing tobacco products during the country’s lockdown. The industries ministry has stated that doing so would further negatively impact the economy during the coronavirus crisis.
May 21, 2020
Bangladesh Health Ministry Requests Halt on Tobacco Production

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The Bangladesh health ministry has requested that the industries ministry rescind the permission granted to tobacco companies to continue production during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The health ministry cited a World Health Organization study stating that smokers are more likely to suffer severe infections from Covid-19. The ministry also cited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s target to make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040.
May 20, 2020