Pran-RFL to start producing essential goods by March

Pran-RFL Group, a leading food processor and conglomerate in Bangladesh, plans to produce flour, refined flour and semolina for consumers in their factories by March next year.

As part of this initiative, they have already completed the construction of a large part of their new industrial park on a 180-bigha plot of land in Gazipur's Moktarpur union.

The group is investing about Tk 1,500 crore to produce these essential products and will employ about 2,000 people, said a top official of the group.

At present, the group offers a diverse range of 6,500 products under 200 brands.

"The commodity market in Bangladesh is very big. There is potential. Sometimes, there is a shortage in the market in demand-supply. This is one reason to come to this business," said Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing of Pran-RFL Group.

"These products will also work as a backward linkage for industries in which we are currently doing business. This is another reason we came into this business," he said.

At present, the final touches are being put on the factories, which is why work is going on in several phases. Similarly, other works are also going on, he added.

Currently, the market leaders in the consumer goods sector in the country are TK Group, Meghna Group of Industries, City Group, Bashundhara Group, S Alam Group, and Abul Khair Group.

Bangladesh is expected to be the ninth-largest consumer market globally by 2030, leaving behind the United Kingdom and Germany, according to a report by HSBC Global Research in 2022.

"Bangladesh is expected to see the fastest growth in its consumer market – that is, the population earning more than $20 per day in constant purchasing power parity terms – in the current decade."

In 2021, Bangladesh was the 16th largest consumer market globally.

Bangladesh has registered steady economic growth in recent years. With a population of 16.5 crore, the nation has seen a 6.15 percent growth in gross domestic product on average since 2000.

"Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India are expected to see the biggest increase in consumer spending in the current decade," said the report.

Bangladesh's consumer market will see more than 7 percent growth annually from 2021 to 2030, said the report.

In 1981, Pran-RFL entered the market through the production and marketing of hand tube-well through Rangpur Foundry Ltd.

It entered the food business in 1985 by forming Agricultural Marketing Company Limited.

Since then, Pran-RFL Group has being offering a wide range of products, including drinks, Bombay mix, chips, baked goods, sauces, jellies, dairy products, spices, chocolates, and electronics.

The group has an annual turnover of about three billion US dollars.