Mohammad Suman

Sugar prices have maintained an upward trend at both wholesale and retail levels in Bangladesh despite a record cut in import duties to keep the market stable ahead of Ramadan. 

Cargo shipments to and from Chattogram port via railways have halved as import-export activities have fallen sharply amid the ongoing US dollar crisis, according to official sources.

The absence of workers’ safety equipment and a lack of inspections of heavy machinery are to blame for Sunday’s explosion at the Sheema Oxygen Plant in Sitakunda’s Keshabpur, said probe officials

Consumers in Bangladesh are still paying higher prices for sugar although a week has passed since the National Board of Revenue (NBR) removed the import duty on both raw and refined sweetener.

Six people were killed and at least 30 others injured in an explosion at an industrial oxygen plant in Sitakunda, Chattogram, yesterday afternoon.

The export of chemical and combustible products from Bangladesh has been halted once again as the only depot designated by the Chattogram customs authority to handle dangerous goods has failed to maintain the minimum safety standards.

Small-scale enterprises of Chattogram are facing a crisis of capital in operating their business while banks have disbursed only 3.6 per cent of the loans allotted under a government stimulus package for cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises.

Imports through Chattogram port fell 2.5 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of the current fiscal as rising US dollar prices pushed up the overall costs involved, according to traders.

The price of the most-consumed items during Ramadan such as chickpeas, dried peas and dates has increased in the wholesale markets in Dhaka and Chattogram due to a supply shortage, two months before the fasting month begins.

The Bangladesh Bank is yet to take any visible measure in line with a commerce ministry directive aimed at asking banks to earmark a portion of their foreign currency holdings to open letters of credit to import essentials ahead of Ramadan. 

Of all the money spent behind the 4,500 types of goods imported through the Chattogram port in the first five months of fiscal year 2022-23, more than 51 per cent or Tk 104,600 crore was spent for only 20 products. 

The National Board of Revenue appears to be in a dilemma over releasing an imported luxury car under the duty-free facility in the name of the former leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.

The import of essentials such as edible oil, chickpeas, dried peas and sugar fell in July-November as traders face difficulties in opening letters of credit (LCs) to purchase the items from international markets amid the US dollar shortage.

Eight officials of Standard Asiatic Oil (SAOCL), a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, have embezzled Tk 21.64 crore by showing advance cost and fake bill vouchers, found investigations by the Directorate of Power and Energy Audit and BPC.

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) has taken a number of steps, including connecting to customs management software, to prevent the use of fake import permits following the detection of such malpractices this year. 

At least three import consignments were released without inspection from the Chattogram Port using the login credentials of a top customs official in June-July despite the recent measures taken to thwart such cons that cost the state coffer in unpaid duties and taxes.

Finally, about 500 tonnes of DDT pesticide, which is extremely harmful to the environment,  will be shipped to France to properly dispose of the substance.

The construction of the country’s first under-river tunnel has reached a major milestone after the completion of a tube, a success Bangladesh Bridge Authority will celebrate today with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joining the programme virtually.

The Chattogram Customs House has demanded Tk 5,227 crore as unpaid duties from Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) against 89 consignments of liquefied natural gas (LNG).  

The coast of Mirsharai, an upazila in the southeast division of Chattogram, wakes up in the morning to the sounds of under-construction factories, and machines of several newly-built plants on a vast part of the region.