Bidi Industry Wants Duty Structure Reshaped

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 05/06/2010

Bangladesh's bidi industry is asking the government to reshape the duty structure on its products so as to protect the jobs of millions of workers, according to a story in The Financial Express. "In order to support our cottage industry-based products and millions of workers who depend on them, we urge the government to reshape the duty structure, differentiating between industrial cigarette products and hand-made bidis," Shaikh Mohiuddin, who owns the country's leading bidi factory, was quoted as saying. As many as 2.4 million bidi workers were said to have lost their jobs between 2001 and 2007 as the duty on the cheapest handmade products was raised by 166 per cent, forcing 52 per cent of factories to close. According to statistics issued by the Bangladesh Bidi Workers Welfare Federation, 113 out of 218 small and medium-scale Bidi factories were shut down during the period. Additionally, the existing 105 factories were said to have had to halve their workforces. "This is a disaster for our traditional bidi industry, which is largely a cottage industry and employs the poorest communities of the country," said Mohiuddin. Enditem