CHITTAGONG, Mar 2: Usmania Glass Factory Ltd an enterprise of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, faces a battle for survival due to uneven competition with the Imported glasses.

The factory based at Kalurghat Industrial Belt in Chittagong port city, annually manufacture around one crore fifty lakh square feet glass sheets to meet about 50 per cent of country's total requirement.

The factory fell In the dilemma this fiscal year with the reduction of duty on the imported glasses and raising of tariff value and lax on the imported raw materials needed for manufacturing glass here, said the Managing Director. Mohammad Sadek while talking a visiting press team rc-

eenUy. al his office.

The duty on imported glasses has been reduced to 75 per cent during current fiscal year from 100 per cent earlier and the tariff value on soda ash, the principal ingredient for manufacturing glasses, has been fixed at 280 dollar de spite its Import price at 176.50 dollar the Managing Director mentioned saying that the duty on it also had been raised to 45 per cent from 40 per cent earlier.

The import price of sodaash last year recorded at 189 dollar per metric ton, he mentioned.

The glasses o^ Usmania are mainly competing with Indian glasses which are being Imported on large scale at easy price, Sadek informed.

Usmania glass sheet'sells at

Tk 9.93 per sfl while Indian glass costs below Taka nine per sft, Sadek also informed.

Usmania glass made of silica. soda-ash, dolomite an limestone, recorded the cost of production at Tk 8.69, the Managing Director said also adding that in the fiscal 91 -92 the factory produced 147.94 lakhs sft glasses worth Taka 18 crores.

Meanwhile, in a bid to cope with the competition Usmania Glas's Factory Ltd planned to embark on a BMRE programme next year with a grant money from Belgian government amounling lo Taka 40.39 crores, the Managing Director further informed saying that ft would raise ihe production capacity lo Iwo crore sft along with Ihc improvement of quality of the glass.