Photo : Messenger
Due to political regime change through a movement, the economy of the country has fallen in to a crisis but after two months of the interim government in power indicators of better economy getting weaker than earlier. Still the share market did not get momentum, banks are going slow due to fund crisis.
Moreover, export import of the country got slower as the businesses cannot open Letter of credit (LC) due to dollar crisis. Even, the bank sector still suffering for prolonged liquid crisis. Procrastination of supply of fund, dollar and energy thus the business of the country gets slower.
Garment, the major sector of foreign currency earner still not normal. Everyday some of the factories are facing workers procession for different types of demands
Zahid Hossain, a prominent economist of the country told the Daily Messenger “This crisis will impact the confidence of foreign buyers and tarnish the image of the country.”
According to an estimate, the economy of Bangladesh has lost about one billion dollars per day while the movement was going on. The country could not recover the situation.
Only garment sector had lost Tk 16,000 crore in ten days violence and the power sector lost Tk 1,000 crore which will require more Tk 1,000 crore to repair. Foreign buyers are very reluctant to receive the consignment as time has been expired. And in the two month the share market has lost Tk 28,000 crore.
Ahsan H. Mansoor, executive director of the Policy Research Institute currently, Adviser for Foreign Ministry, told the Daily Messenger “Bangladesh has lost about one billion dollars per day in those days. This is a great loss for
Bangladesh. Because Bangladesh was already in economic uncertainty and we could not recover the crisis yet.”
However, business and industrial activities have resumed but insecurity sized the country. Bangladesh’s economy is facing its toughest challenge in decades due to high inflation, declining exports and dollar crisis. At that moment, garment factories and shops were shut down due to the violence. All port operations were stopped.
Ruhul Amin Sikder, Secretary General of Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), told the Daily Messenger “We have incurred huge loss during ten days. It will take time to recover the loss. I fear the crisis will recover soon.”
Despite this depression, garment factories resumed production. But the challenge of the moment for the exporters is to deliver the consignment within due time. The good news is that after the operation of the ports, the speed of import and export container shipment has increased. Business activities have started as broadband internet connectivity resumes. Moreover, the exporters started communicating with the buyers.
Muhammad Hatem, Executive President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) is concern about availability of raw material as the transportation system was completely lost. He said “Due to the disruption of the supply system, the factories are facing a shortage of raw materials.”
He said, the exporters are communicating with the buyers and trying to make them understand the situation of the country. He hopes, the trusted buyers would understand the situation. Already, the biggest consignment of the biggest brand H&M has been stuck in port. But the H&M assured that they will receive the consignment and pay the bills on time.
According to Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh's annual inflation stood at 9.73 percent in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the highest in 12 years and higher than the government's 7.5 percent.
Ruhul Amin Sikder also said that Offdock's container handling depends on the country's trade and commerce. Both imports and exports increase when global trade is favorable and the country has a business-friendly environment. It also increases the amount of handling. So as much business-friendly environment can be created, the dollar crisis can be overcome and the overall import and export trade of the country will bring benefits.
In the outgoing financial year 2023-24, the country has exported goods worth $42 billion. These exports are $1 billion lower than the figures provided by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) based on data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) customs department.
The information has emerged in the minutes of the fourth meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee. In this, the central bank said that Bangladesh's product exports have been decreasing for three fiscal years from 2021-22 fiscal year.
Messenger/Disha
