Contracting number of large players for healthy Bangladesh market

摘要

Players serving the US$900mn Bangladeshi tobacco market have contracted over the past several years from 15 companies to just seven - with Dhaka Tobacco and British American Tobacco (BAT) now the joint number one companies in terms of quantity.rnIn terms of market share, BAT has 40% and Dhaka Tobacco 42%, with the rest of the market divided between Abul Khair, Nasir Tobacco, Azizuddin, Imperial Tobacco and New Age Tobacco. Between 2000 and 2007, the market grew by an estimated 7% (CAGR).rn"The competition in the market is for share and quality, as the low quality brands dominate the market," said Nasiruddin Biswas, Managing Director of Nasir Tobacco Industries, Nasir Leaf Tobacco Industries and President of the Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers Association. And, as BAT pointed out in an interview with World Tobacco magazine, the industry has not increased the price of its products above the rate of inflation for more than 15 years, resulting in ever decreasing margins and profitability.