The printing and publishing industry in a battle of survival
23 February 2021
THE
publishing industry of Bangladesh is in a dire situation due to the
prolonged closure of educational institutions in the aftermath of the
Covid-19 pandemic. The closure has cut down sales of publishing houses
by more than 70 per cent. Although many educational institutions
continued their classes using digital platforms, this did not help the
publishing industry much. The sale of all categories of books declined
to less than one-third of the average. The downturn also affected the
allied businesses such as printing, binding and other relevant services.
Many
workers involved in the printing and publishing industry lost their
jobs. The owners of the publishing houses also failed to receive any
support from the formal financial institutions. The sector having a
great potential has witnessed 20-70 per cent job cuts at various levels.
The country's most eminent booksellers said their daily sale went down
to one-third of the normal. The situation has become somewhat better
since the easing of the lockdown. But it is far behind the normal sales.
Insiders
said almost all other sectors are now recuperating losses while the
publishing industry faces a blink future in near future. A number of
traders have already deserted the business, while most others are
struggling to survive in a very hostile environment. After losing
business during the last season, the publishers thought the situation
would improve this year with the opening of the educational
institutions, but, unfortunately, that is not happening. According to
the Bangladesh Pustak Prokashak O- Bikreta Samity, the publishing sector
has suffered losses worth more than Tk 3,000 crore due to the
coronavirus pandemic. The yearly turnover of this sector is around Tk
12,000 crore, but during this pandemic year, it has not reached more
than 10 per cent of the amount.
Only leading publishing houses so far
have received shares of the official stimulus package, while small and
medium publishers and sellers have got nothing. The publishing industry
as the sector is promoting they dissemination of knowledge among the
people merits support to get back on its feet.