Sukanta Halder

Ginger prices have surged in Bangladesh as imports of the spice have become costlier amid the ongoing US dollar shortage and a recent global supply crunch resulting from lower production.

Potato prices have skyrocketed in Bangladesh amid a drop in production as farmers are increasingly turning to more profitable crops while poor weather conditions also lowered supply, according to market players.

Life insurance companies in Bangladesh have continued to put more than half of their investments in treasury bills and bonds in the absence of diversified investment opportunities, official figures showed. 

Sugar prices have risen at wholesale and retail markets in Dhaka and Chattogram due to an ongoing supply crunch.

A project of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) aimed at developing its industrial estate in Barishal and improving infrastructure there has again missed the deadline for completion owing to sluggish implementation, official documents showed.  

Travellers were undeterred by the ongoing heatwave or higher accommodation and transport costs as tourist destinations across Bangladesh were bustling with activity during the recent holiday centring Eid-ul-Fitr.

Businesses across the country had mixed bag of reactions when asked about their sales prior to the just-concluded Eid-ul-Fitr on April 22, with many blaming an inflation-induced rise in the cost of living and a heatwave taking a toll on shoppers. 

Salt farming in Bangladesh has reached the highest level this year since commercial production began in the country six decades ago thanks to favourable weather conditions.

The retail price of chicken, one of the population’s biggest sources of protein, has gone up by around Tk 50 in the last two days, with the common reasonings being either a supply crunch or an attempt to cash in on inevitable Eid demand.  

Only around 14 per cent of applications filed by e-commerce companies have been granted digital business identification (DBID) certificates since the registration process was initiated over a year ago.

It was 11.45 pm on Tuesday. Shopping malls and markets usually remain shut at this hour of the day. But, the bustling shopping district for clothing and lifestyle items in the Mirpur-1 area was abuzz with shoppers.

The demand for electric fans has increased significantly in Bangladesh as the scorching summer heat has become nigh unbearable in recent times.

Yesterday’s blaze at Dhaka New Super Market has severely affected trade of nearby markets, that too with just a week to go before Eid-ul-Fitr. 

“I risked my life to enter my shop despite the fire but could not save anything,” said Md Babul, a seller of baby cloth items at the New Super Market.

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is seeking applications from entrepreneurs to allot 1,003 plots lying vacant in various industrial estates across the country.

With only a day remaining before the celebration of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla year, sales of clothing and sweetmeat have not picked up and businesses say they are unlikely to meet their targets this year.

A project of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to build 34 buffer warehouses has once again failed to meet its deadline and become costlier due to slow implementation.

Although soybean oil prices have dropped in the international market, consumers in Bangladesh are yet to reap the benefit of this reduction as domestic prices remain the same.

Traders of Bangabazar Complex, who were running their business on loans, have urged the government to ensure that they do not have to pay instalments for a specified period as they are recovering from a recent fire at the apparel market in Dhaka’s Gulistan.

The fire at Bangabazar on Tuesday morning not only affected shop owners at the apparel shopping complex in Dhaka’s Gulistan, but also other players in the supply chain.