Dr. Md.A.Saleque:Global Pet Study (2024) estimates that there are approximately 1 billion pets worldwide. The number of dogs and cats kept as pets has been continuously rising globally. According to Lisa Wood (2015), having a pet offers its owners a number of therapeutic, physiological, psychological, and psychosocial advantages. These include lowered blood pressure, a lower chance of heart attacks, increased physical activity, increased sensory stimulation, emotional support, and a stronger sense of physical and psychological well-being.
Like other countries around the world, the demographic changes, rising income levels and the Covid-19 pandemic have driven more people to adopt pets in Bangladesh. According to the National Guideline for Animal Bite Management (MHFW, 2021), there are over 1.7 million dogs in Bangladesh, of whom 289000 are pets. There is no information available about cat population in Bangladesh. As per worldostats.com/cat (2025), there are around 4.0 million cats in our country, of whom approximately 564,848 are kept as pets (ACI report, 2024). Typically, many households in Bangladesh are becoming increasingly aware of the need to take care of their pets and are willing to spend on pet care products. Moreover, with the rise in number of nuclear families and working women, the demand for pet care services is also increasing in the country (6Wresearch,2023). In our country, cats are more popular as pets than dogs because they are easier to keep in apartments or single house. Pets, especially dogs, are not permitted in multi-store buildings. According to 6W research, the market demand of pet products is expected to grow at a higher growth rate during the 2023-2029. The growing demand for services is also driving an increase in the number of pet clinics.
Even though the pet industry, particularly the cat sector, has grown dramatically over the past five years in Bangladesh, there is a lack of adequate research in this field and little data available. There is no comprehensive research has been conducted to date to understand its growth, challenges, and future. Therefore, ACI conducted a comprehensive study in early 2024 to evaluate our nation's newly emerging pet industry.
It was found from the survey that the number of pets rearers has increased by 170 percent, or roughly twice, in the last three years. Cat rearing involves a range of professional and educational backgrounds. 90% of pet owners in our country rear cats. As per study result, the Pet products market is primarily divided into five segments: Pet Food, Pet Litter, Vaccine, Medicines and accessories. Most of these pet products are imported from other countries. Pet shops (over 4000), some pet clinics and online shops sell various pet foods, pet litters, and accessories. Nonetheless, pet clinics (Over 225) are the primary source of the medication and vaccine. The study revealed that over 90% of human and other animal medicines are utilized for the treatment of pets, and there are very few medicines specifically for pets. The pet vaccine market, which was impacted by informal suppliers at 44% in 2023 and is now at 20%, is still affected. The pet industry makes sales of over Tk 230 crore annually in Bangladesh, with the market growing more than 10-15 percent every year. Pet food has the largest market share, at 57%, followed by medicines (19%), litter (16%), vaccines (7%), and miscellaneous products (1%)
The private pet clinics (Over 225) provide veterinary care, including consultancy, vaccinations, routine check-ups and specialized treatments, surgery, ultrasonography, and more. 70% of clinics also sell pet food, litter and other accessories. In addition to private clinics, the Department of Livestock Services' Central Veterinary Hospital (CVH) at Kazi Alaudddin road, Dhaka and CVASU Hospital at Purbachal (under Chottogram Veterinary and Animal Science University -CVASU) also have all modern facilities for pet disease diagnosis and technical services. The veterinarians who work for the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) also provide some services for pet animal. The market for pet products is anticipated to expand further in the years to come as a result of changing lifestyles and rising per capita income. Consequently, there will be a greater need for pet-related products and services, which will encourage the expansion of pet shops and clinics in Bangladesh. ACI started its pet business two years ago in response to the current demand and provides a wide range of pet products, such as food, litter, medicines, vaccines, and accessories. It also opened a pet clinic recently.
Writer: Chief Technical Advisor
ACI Animal Health
