Sukanta Halder

Tourist spots across Bangladesh are abuzz with both domestic and foreign travellers as the coming of winter, the country’s main holiday season, has again brought cheers to the tourism sector following the relaxing of enforcement of pandemic restrictions since the middle of last year.

Plastic toy makers and retailers in Bangladesh are feeling the pinch of a nearly 40 per cent drop in sales amid higher raw material prices fuelled by raging inflation stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Apartments worth at least Tk 1 crore with an area of up to 1,250 square feet were the biggest draw at this year’s REHAB Fair, which is an annual housing exhibition currently being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has found the presence of harmful sodium hydrosulphite or dithionite in the palm and sugarcane molasses produced in the country.

In January, Monirul Islam did not have to think twice about the bill while eating out in the morning or ordering beef or chicken items for lunch.  

The export of tea has slightly increased in recent times apparently for quality enhancements, focus on retail packs and production being higher than domestic consumption. 

The rising cost of living that stems from higher prices for essential goods has affected the Benarasi Palli in Dhaka’s Mirpur, where traders say sales have dipped by almost half despite it being the peak season.

Sugar prices show no sign of falling in Bangladesh although refining activity is going on in full swing thanks to the improvement of gas supply to refiners to a large extent.

Shajedul Islam Sajal, who lives in the WASA staff quarter near Pallabi Extension in Dhaka’s Mirpur, had pooled his money with other youths in the area to buy a projector for Tk 15,000 before the FIFA World Cup began on November 20 this year.

Infrastructural inadequacies, such as potholes, are the biggest concern for businesses based in industrial estates of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), according to 67 per cent of the entrepreneurs with factories inside BSCIC areas across the country.

The number of registered taxpayers is gradually increasing in Bangladesh but return submission is low relative to the size and growth of the economy, which has expanded significantly in the past decade.

Eighty-year-old Renu Bibi left home in the capital’s Lalbagh before daybreak to queue up for subsidised rice and flour sold at a truck under the government’s Open Market Sale programme.

Cottage, micro, small-and-medium enterprises (CMSMEs) in Bangladesh are suffering from significantly lower sales at a time when inflationary pressure has pushed up production costs, according to entrepreneurs.

The prices of powdered milk have increased again by Tk 50 to Tk 110 per kilogramme (kg) in the last one month for rising prices in the international market, shortage of US dollars owing to depleting foreign currency reserves and complexities in opening letters of credit. 

The decision to increase the wholesale price of electricity by 19.92 per cent to Tk 6.20 per unit has raised concerns among businesses who say consumers may soon have to bear the added burden.

When SM Laizur Rahman got a notice from his landlord saying that his flat’s monthly rent would go up by Tk 3,000 starting next January, he could not believe it.

 For the Bangladesh economy, the next three months are expected to be delicate as the measures the government has taken so far to steady the ship amid the global economic tempest start to play out.

The insurance regulator of Bangladesh has directed all life insurers to set up an actuarial department and appoint actuaries with a view to assessing and managing the risks of financial investments and insurance policies. 

Retailers in Bangladesh are feeling the pinch as consumers have been buying less for the last few months because of the continuous increase in the prices of daily necessities and growing uncertainty. 

Nurseries across Bangladesh saw a massive drop in sales in the last four months due to the rising cost of living along with higher production costs and low rainfall.