"The Australian importer says our products are comparable to others imported from highly industrialised countries but much cheaper", young and enterprising Sabbir Zakaria, owner of Sony Enterprise boasted.

"An automatic flour mill we supply costs around Tk 60 lakh and can grind about 60 tonnes of wheat in 24 hours while an imported one costs about Tk 5 crore", he said while talking to this correspondent at his engineering plant recently.

He said he is preparing to export costly spares of fertiliser plant, rice mill, auto-feed mill, oil mill and pulse grinding mill.

Sabbir said he is also producing spares of power tiller, shallow and deep tube wells and textile mill. But these are facing tough competition from smuggled Indian machinery and spares.

"Our products are of international standard and acclaimed by importers but in the country, we got no praise from the government. Nobody extended any cooperation", he lamented.

Sony enterprise is one of some units in the BSIC industrial estate, which are earning foreign exchange for the country.

Mona Food and Resco Biscuit Factory have been exporting superior quality biscuts to Nepal.

Machinery, spares and other products produced in the industrial estate and meeting country's demand. These are facing tough competition from smuggled items, some of the entrepreneurs said while talking to this correspondent.

Set up in 1962, Jessore BSIC at Jhumijhumpur started its journey with only 12 industrial units, its official Lutfur Rahman said. Now it has 122 industrial units running on 50 acres of land. All the industrial units except nine are running well.

Textile mills, engineering and chemical factories are now producing an around 156 crore 40 lakh tonnes of goods annually. They have employed a large number of people.

But the situation was not like this some years back. The great achievement has been attained in 4 to 5 years.

Narrating his experience, Sabbir said, "We started with the conviction that if other countries can produce and export machinery to us, we can also make the same things".

"We had to face difficulties because of lack of patronisation. But I did not lose heart.

"The machinery and spares I am producing are durable, cheaper and better than those smuggled.

"Government agencies and mills can easily buy goods from us. We do not seek any special favour", he said.

Sabbir said there are hundreds of enterprising youths in the country who can do great things, impossible in other countries. They need support including bank loan on easy terms.