Ensure adequate power, gas for business: MCCI

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has urged the government to ensure adequate supplies of electricity and gas for the sake of smooth economic activities.

The MCCI's call came in its review of Bangladesh's economic situation for the October-December period of 2022 which was made public yesterday.

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Since the government hiked electricity prices by 5 per cent yesterday, Md Saiful Islam, president of the MCCI, in his reaction said it would have been better had the government not raised the energy prices right now as the prices had already been increased recently.

Energy prices are on a downward trend in the global market so the government should have waited for some time, he said.

The government raised the price twice in the last two months, first by 5 per cent and then by 8 per cent.

Apart from this, businesses suffered a lot of power cuts in the summer last year which hampered business activities.

With the price hike, cost of production of the manufacturing sector has risen, Islam said when contacted by The Daily Star.

Bangladesh's robust economic recovery from the pandemic has been interrupted by the Russia-Ukraine war, said the MCCI in its review.

The war resulted in supply chain disruptions, global oil and food price spikes, slowdown in external demand, weak remittance inflow, rise in inflation, negative current account balance, depreciation of the taka and a decline in foreign exchange reserves, it said.

Amidst this situation, the government took quick and decisive measures to address the economic fallouts, it said.

It also needs to take more steps to stabilise the foreign exchange reserves, manage inflation, enhance revenue earnings and extend social safety net programmes, said the MCCI.

The economy has been showing some signs of improvement while export earnings have facilitated economic recovery, it said.

The export-oriented garment, leather, plastic, jute and domestic market-oriented steel, food-processing and transport sectors are running full-scale operations, it said.

Import payments and inward remittances, however, decreased which has multiplier effects on other economic sectors, said the MCCI.

Foreign currency reserves are still somewhat in a satisfactory state but into a weaker trajectory. The overall inflation in August 2022 rose to 9.52 per cent and then gradually decreased to reach 8.71 per cent in December 2022, it said.

The exchange rate has long remained stable but depreciated notably in December 2022 in favour of the US dollar, it said.