Pandemic weighing on schoolbag makers
Habibur Rahman, a Chattogram-based schoolbag manufacturer, suddenly fell into deep financial peril ever since the coronavirus pandemic first reached Bangladesh in March 2020.
Rahman once led a solvent life, easily maintaining his family expenses.
However, ever since Covid-19 began its march across the country, he has been struggling to survive as his income has been practically zero for the past one-and-a-half years amid the countrywide closure of all educational institutions.
On March 14 last year, the government shuttered all educational institutions in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly pathogen.
The closure was repeatedly extended with the latest lasting till August 31, leading to the cancellation of exams and leaving academic calendars in disarray.
"My main product was schoolbags, the demand for which dropped abruptly amid the pandemic," he said.
During the first six months of the pandemic, Rahman had to bear the factory rent and salaries of three employees with funds from his savings account.
"However, the situation deteriorated and then I let go of the factory premises, storing my machines at my house. All my savings were used up in the first six months. Now I'm in full deficit," said the backpack maker.
Now, Rahman has been forced to sell vegetables in a bid to make ends meet but he is not alone in his troubles as a number of people who are related to the industry are rowing the same boat.
Nur Hosen, another schoolbag producer who used to supply shops in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar, echoed Rahman, saying that he was initially forced to live off his savings.
He then changed product lines and started to produce belts even though it is a slow moving product with a low profit margin.
Most school bag producers either closed down their factories completely or changed their product lines to belts or handbags.
Besides, the number of suppliers rose while the demand and profits remained negligible.
"But still, I am trying to at least survive," said Hosen.
"Schoolbag customers are mainly school, college and university-going students needing to carry books or other educational materials but they did not need such bags in the last one-and-a-half years due to the shutdown," said Akhter Hossain, a wholesaler of Chawkbazar.
Bangladesh has 107 private universities and about 2,254 colleges affiliated with National University. In 2020, a total of 13.6 lakh students successfully completed the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) or equivalent examinations.
A minimum of 34 lakh primary students and 25 lakh secondary students are there in the country.
"Our sales of schoolbags were very low in the pandemic period so we didn't throw away the bags, rather we now display other bags," said Hossain.
"But when the school, college and universities will open, then the demand for bags will rise again," he added.