No need to hoard tissue
The coronavirus pandemic has fuelled the demand for tissues globally and Bangladesh, where new cases of contagion are being identified, is not an exception.
Shoppers here are thronging stores for tissues and some are even buying more than they need amid a panic that is spreading like wildfire.
However, local tissue makers say they still have 20-30 per cent of spare production capacity and can meet increased demand.
"We can supply as much as you want. We have kept half of our machines shut," said Md Mustafizur Rahman, deputy managing director of Bashundhara Group that has the country's biggest paper mill.
Bashundhara can produce 6,000 tonnes of tissues a month, out of the local industry's total capacity of around 9,000 tonnes.
Bangladesh consumes nearly 4,000 tonnes of tissues a month. Bashundhara meets most of the demand followed by Meghna and Bangla Tissue, according to industry operators.
More than a dozen tissue makers are now in operations out of the 22 in the country, where Tk 480 crore worth of tissues were sold in 2018, up from only Tk 230 crore in 2008.
Bashundhara now utilises 90 per cent of its production capacity, Rahman said. "We sell 50 per cent of our products locally and export the rest."
"But we will not export tissues now. Rather we will focus on meeting the local demand first so that there is no scarcity here," he said.
Rahman cited incidents of toilet paper thefts and shelves becoming empty at stores in developed countries and said, "We can assure you that this will not happen in Bangladesh. We can deliver the entire requirement of the country."
"Bangladesh has sufficient capacity. So, there is nothing to worry about," said Sukanta Kumar Saha, assistant general manager for export and international market of the Meghna Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd, which markets Fresh tissue.
The domestic market is not big enough for the tissue makers to use their full capacity, he said.
"If you take export into account, up to 70 per cent capacity of the whole industry is currently being utilised."
Meghna Pulp & Paper, a concern of Meghna Group of Industries, can make 1,500 tonnes of tissues a month using 80 percent of its capacity.
The domestic demand for tissue soared 20 percent now, compared to the same time last year, because of a buying spree amid the coronavirus outbreak, said Mamun Hossain, head of sales of Nissho Koeki Tissue Papers Co Ltd (NKTP) that markets Bangla Tissue.
He also echoed the views of Saha. "The industry's production capacity is still higher than the demand."
Only 20 per cent of Bangladesh's population use tissue, Hossain said, adding that the use of tissue may increase in the days to come as people are looking for ways to fight coronavirus.
However, a large portion of the population, particularly low-income group, is unlikely to use tissue, he said.
"So, it will be very much possible to meet the additional demand by utilising the industry's spare capacity. There is no need to stockpile."
Even there is no possibility of a price hike in near future, said Rahman of Bashundhara. "We have no plan to increase prices amid crisis."
On price hike at the retail levels, he said the customers should follow the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on the packages.
"If anybody anywhere charges more than the MRP, we have the customer helpline. The customers should inform us. They can also file compliant to the consumer rights protection authority."
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