DIPAN NANDY

Business at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair took a massive hit in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the years since, book sales at the annual fair started to recover. However, sales plunged again this year, bringing a fresh wave of uncertainty among publishers.

An analysis of sales data over the past decade shows significant fluctuations in the book fair market. Sales increased steadily for several years before the pandemic.

In 2020, right before the pandemic spread in the country, sales at the fair crossed the Tk 80 crore mark. Just a year later, the figure stood at a meagre Tk 3 crore.

In the years since, the market showed signs of recovery, with sales figures rising to as much as Tk 60 crore at the 2024 fair. However, this year’s fair -- with its duration cut short due to political events -- has dashed publishers’ enthusiasm with low sales.

STEADY GROWTH, THEN A DRASTIC FALL

Book sales at the fair grew steadily between 2017 and 2020, according to the Bangla Academy.

In 2017, books worth around Tk 65 crore were sold, with an average daily sale of about Tk 2.32 crore. Sales rose to around Tk 70 crore in 2018, with daily average sales of Tk 2.50 crore.

In 2019, sales increased further to about Tk 79 crore, with average daily sales of Tk 2.63 crore. The peak came in 2020, when total sales reached about Tk 82 crore. During that year’s 27-day fair, average daily sales stood at about Tk 3.03 crore, the highest in the past decade.

“The release of new books by popular authors, a strong turnout of readers and the expansion of the fairgrounds all contributed to the growth during that period,” Mazharul Islam, chief executive of Annyaprakash, told The Daily Star.

The situation changed drastically in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

That year, the fair started on March 18 instead of February 1. Although it was scheduled to run for 28 days, the worsening pandemic situation forced the organisers to cut it short to 26 days.

Total sales dropped to just Tk 3 crore, meaning the average daily sales were only Tk 11 lakh -- the lowest figure in recent years.

Recalling that year’s fair, Osman Gani, head of Agamee Prokashani, said, “The number of visitors was limited, and many people feared infection, which significantly reduced book sales.”

HOPES OF RECOVERY UNCERTAIN

As the situation began to normalise after the pandemic, book sales were gradually showing signs of bouncing back.

In 2022, books worth about Tk 52 crore were sold during the 31-day fair, with average daily sales of Tk 1.67 crore.

In 2023, total sales declined slightly to around Tk 47 crore, though the daily average remained almost the same at Tk 1.68 crore.

Sales rose again in 2024 to about Tk 60 crore, with average daily sales of around Tk 1.93 crore.

However, this upward trend did not last long.

In 2025, total book sales fell to around Tk 40 crore, with average daily sales of about Tk 1.42 crore.

Book sales dropped sharply in 2026. During the 18-day fair, total sales stood at approximately Tk 17 crore, translating to an average daily sale of around Tk 1 crore.

“Due to political and economic instability, book sales at the 2025 fair were about 60 percent lower than the previous year. That trend has intensified this year,” said Mahrukh Mohiuddin, managing director of The University Press Limited.

“Compared to a normal year, book sales at this year’s fair have dropped by around 70 percent. Nearly 90 percent of participating publishers could not even recover the basic cost of constructing their stalls. Among them, around 30 percent of publishers sold books worth less than Tk 5,000.”

Mahbubur Rahman, chief executive of Adarsha Prokashani, said, “This year’s fair was largely symbolic. In reality, sales should not have reached even this level.”

However, Mohammad Azam, director general of Bangla Academy, disagrees with judging the fair’s success solely based on book sales.

Speaking to The Daily Star, he said, “Many people had predicted that this year’s fair would be empty. In reality, that did not happen.”

He argued that, though footfall declined, people who visited this year’s fair were purely buyers.

“And the lower turnout does not necessarily mean fewer sales, because people who buy books rarely miss the fair,” Azam said.