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Annual sales of engine oil in Bangladesh more than doubled to Tk 8,000 crore in 2024 from Tk 3,616 crore five years ago, driven by higher prices, increased mobility, industrial growth and overall economic activities. And the sector is expected to clock more growth in the coming years, industry operators said. "The demand for lubricants will only increase in tandem with the industrial growth.
Because it is essential for the maintenance and functioning of all kinds of machinery," said Zeeshan Saif, consultant for markets and brand at Sena Lubricant. He said consumption of engine oil grew due to an increase in economic activities, electricity generation and mobility. Bangladesh has around 200 firms selling lubricating oil, which amounted to an estimated 1.
77 lakh tonnes last year. Five years ago, around 1.6 lakh tonnes were used.
The automotive sector accounts for 68 percent of the annual demand for engine oil followed by the industrial sector with 38 percent. The marine and agriculture sector consume the rest, according to market insiders. They said 16 to 17 companies blend base oil, the primary raw material, with chemical additives to produce lubricating oil fit for different machines.
Mobil Jamuna Lubricants Bangladesh Limited, Fuchs Lubricants Bangladesh Ltd, Trade Services International, Rahimafrooz, and Ranks Petroleum are the top five players in the engine oil market of Bangladesh. Mobil marketed by the MJL leads the market with a 30 percent share. It is followed by British Petroleum (BP) marketed by Rahimafrooz with a 10 percent market share and French lubricant brand Total marketed by Trade Services International with an 8 percent market share.
A good portion of the market is also catered to by lesser-known brands. Saif said the need for lubricants would increase 8 percent annually over the next five years. He also said the local companies that blend the base oil with chemical additives have to pay a 38 percent import duty while importers bringing in refined lubricants have to pay a 49 percent duty.
However, SM Bakhtiar, head of marketing at Trade Services International, said growth of the automotives sector would determine the size of the market. "As new brands are entering the market, some brands are also exiting the market," he said, adding that there has been growth in the market in terms of product value. Consumption has not increased in line with the increase in product prices, he added.
The government has repeatedly increased the price of petroleum oil. Import cost has increased too owing to a rise in tariff and the cost of the US dollar, he added. Bakhtiar said the use of engine oil has reduced in recent times because of a slowdown in industrial activities.
This was echoed by Syed Nazib M Rahman, chief marketing officer at Runner Lube and Energy Limited, the sole distributor of Servo engine oil. The demand for engine oil has decreased significantly because of a decline in its use in industries, he added. And when industrial production decreases, use of engine oil in trucks falls too, he said, adding that trucks were the major consumers of lubricating oil in the automotive sector.
The sector has been further impacted as industrial production suffered for labour unrest and the mass uprising which led to the ousting of the former government in early August, according to industry insiders. Annual sales of engine oil in Bangladesh more than doubled to Tk 8,000 crore in 2024 from Tk 3,616 crore five years ago, driven by higher prices, increased mobility, industrial growth and overall economic activities. And the sector is expected to clock more growth in the coming years, industry operators said.
"The demand for lubricants will only increase in tandem with the industrial growth. Because it is essential for the maintenance and functioning of all kinds of machinery," said Zeeshan Saif, consultant for markets and brand at Sena Lubricant. He said consumption of engine oil grew due to an increase in economic activities, electricity generation and mobility.
Bangladesh has around 200 firms selling lubricating oil, which amounted to an estimated 1.77 lakh tonnes last year. Five years ago, around 1.
6 lakh tonnes were used. The automotive sector accounts for 68 percent of the annual demand for engine oil followed by the industrial sector with 38 percent. The marine and agriculture sector consume the rest, according to market insiders.
They said 16 to 17 companies blend base oil, the primary raw material, with chemical additives to produce lubricating oil fit for different machines. Mobil Jamuna Lubricants Bangladesh Limited, Fuchs Lubricants Bangladesh Ltd, Trade Services International, Rahimafrooz, and Ranks Petroleum are the top five players in the engine oil market of Bangladesh. Mobil marketed by the MJL leads the market with a 30 percent share.
It is followed by British Petroleum (BP) marketed by Rahimafrooz with a 10 percent market share and French lubricant brand Total marketed by Trade Services International with an 8 percent market share. A good portion of the market is also catered to by lesser-known brands. Saif said the need for lubricants would increase 8 percent annually over the next five years.
He also said the local companies that blend the base oil with chemical additives have to pay a 38 percent import duty while importers bringing in refined lubricants have to pay a 49 percent duty. However, SM Bakhtiar, head of marketing at Trade Services International, said growth of the automotives sector would determine the size of the market. "As new brands are entering the market, some brands are also exiting the market," he said, adding that there has been growth in the market in terms of product value.
Consumption has not increased in line with the increase in product prices, he added. The government has repeatedly increased the price of petroleum oil. Import cost has increased too owing to a rise in tariff and the cost of the US dollar, he added.
Bakhtiar said the use of engine oil has reduced in recent times because of a slowdown in industrial activities. This was echoed by Syed Nazib M Rahman, chief marketing officer at Runner Lube and Energy Limited, the sole distributor of Servo engine oil. The demand for engine oil has decreased significantly because of a decline in its use in industries, he added.
And when industrial production decreases, use of engine oil in trucks falls too, he said, adding that trucks were the major consumers of lubricating oil in the automotive sector. The sector has been further impacted as industrial production suffered for labour unrest and the mass uprising which led to the ousting of the former government in early August, according to industry insiders..
