Value Chain Analysis and Market Assessment for Timber Market in Bangladesh

The Opportunity

A global corporation having timber sectoral experience in other markets around the world was keen to learn about the opportunities in Bangladesh. Demand for consumer durables like furniture has been growing over the last decade driven by rising income, growing population, increasing urbanization, and changing family structures. Backward linkage has also been evolving with respect to changing tastes and fashion among the end consumers in both domestic and export markets. Another timber-based industry, Construction, is also growing in parallel with the demand for housing.

Historically, Bangladesh has been dependent on imported timber due to government policies, which restrict sourcing from local forests. For better understanding, therefore, the client asked to determine the timber demand-supply dynamics in order to evaluate whether it made sense to integrate into the backward supply chain.

Our Approach

To provide a holistic view of the timber value chain, we identified key market actors and processes at each stage of the value chain. As the client wanted to assess the demand for timber in the aforementioned industries, along with the growth prospects over a 5-year time horizon, we garnered in-depth insights on demand-supply dynamics for each industry – analyzing top-line market entry strategies. We also understood the cost structure in transportation and import duty formulation to support the client’s market entry decisions. Finally, we delivered an overview of the policy landscape in regards to forestland management and timber import.

The Future

The client is deliberating on our proposed strategies to enter the market. We have supported the conglomerate by connecting them with key industry actors as well.