Jasim Uddin Haroon

Meghna Group, one of the country's largest bicycle manufacturers, Monday said it will launch production of high-end bikes from its new plant this November, company officials said.

The plant, which has been set up at Sreepur in Gazipur, will produce bikes that will be sold between US$ 150 and $250 each.

Currently, Bangladesh's three leading bicycle manufacturers have been producing bikes priced between $80 and $100 each on an average.

"We're planning to launch a trial operation soon and we expect to start shipment of the same by February next year," Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the Meghna Group told the FE.

The plant will manufacture at least 10,000 pieces of bicycles each month employing over 400 workers.

Bangladesh is the fifth largest bicycle exporter in the world and nearly a dozen manufacturing units ship bicycles worth around US$ 100 million a year.

Currently, some of the world's leading companies, including Raleigh, PCM and Motor and Sports of the UK and Aldi of Holland, Bacht-enkirch Interbike of Germany, M&F De Schee-maeker and Formula Cycling of Belgium are importing bicycles from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh manufactures mountain bikes, city bikes, free styles, trekking, folding, beach cruiser and kid bikes. Industry insiders said the country can export around 2.0 million pieces of bicycles a year.

Major (retd.) Halim Khan, executive director of the Meghna Group said that this plant will open a new era in export of high-end Bangladeshi bikes.

The UK is a big bicycle market worth 214 million euro a year.

Halim Khan said: "We've to manufacture high-end bikes to tap larger markets in Europe."