Photo shows few packs of locally made sanitary napkins. The country's local sanitary napkin industry has grown fast in the past 15 years, as consumers are increasingly getting locally made products at competitive prices.

The country's local sanitary napkin industry has grown fast in the past 15 years, as consumers are increasingly getting locally made products at competitive prices.
Industry experts estimate the existing market size of the product at around Tk 25 crore, with around 20 local brands available in the market now.
The local brands that currently hold more than 80 percent of the total market share include Senora, Monalisa, Savlon Freedom, Smile, Cottex, Rose, Nirapad, Modex and Softex, with Senora as the market leader and Monalisa already in the export basket.
The price of a regular pack of the item containing 10 napkins ranges from Tk 30 to Tk 70, while a Tk 80 pack contains 15 napkins.
Industry insiders attributed the growth to consciousness of reproductive health and hygiene issue, and the increased number of workingwomen in the recent years.
The major stakeholders in the industry are Square Group, Bashundhara Group and ACI Ltd.
Square Group launched Senora, the first-ever local sanitary napkin in the country, in 1989 with the aim to create awareness of reproductive health and hygiene issue.
Jesmin Jaman, senior brand manager of Square Group, said when they launched Senora, the urban upper class women were the only consumers of this product, which was all imported then.
The usage was limited too as the middle class women were not used to the item at that time, she said, adding that there was hardly any awareness among them of diseases and difficulties that can arise out of traditional use of cloths or other things during menstruation.
Square arranged a series of workshops at that time in many schools, collages and universities to raise awareness in this regard, and its Senora brand now holds around 55 percent of the total market share.
Shamsuzzaman, a retailer in Dhanmondi, said now the main consumers of these local products are the middle class women.
He said the sales of local napkin have grown up in recent years, as the product quality is quite good and price is reasonable compared to that of imported ones from India, China and Thailand.
Meeting the local demands, the country's sanitary napkins are making their ways to some neighboring countries too.
In 2004 Bashundhara Group started exporting its Monalisa brand napkin to India, Nepal and Bhutan.
In January this year, ACI Ltd launched Savlon Freedom.
Farzana Hossain, brand manager of ACI, said the product has become popular as it is user friendly and cheaper than other local products.
But yet the industry is facing some difficulties. Jesmin of Square said the local products have to fight back against the illegally imported ones.
She said the government should take necessary measures to stop import of the product so the local industry can flourish.
She also said the industry needs government support,
[email protected]