Sukanta Halder

Reducing the regulatory duty on sugar imports from 30 per cent to 10 per cent could stabilise sugar prices in the domestic market, according to a report by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC).

Cyclone Sitrang is over and the weather is forecast to be sunny today. But for thousands of people in Bangladesh, including farmers, it is rather gloomy. 

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), the sole regulatory body for insurance companies in Bangladesh, has identified nine issues that are impeding growth in the country’s non-life insurance sector.

The sudden rise in the price of sugar, a key ingredient for popular items such as biscuits, juices, sweets and candies, has pushed up the cost of production, putting manufacturers in a tight spot. 

Over half of the life insurance companies in Bangladesh exceeded their allowable management expense in 2021, putting a negative impact on life funds and eroding their capacity to settle claims.

Sugar has become dearer with prices going up by Tk 15 a kg at retail markets as millers cut supplies blaming insufficient gas flow at refineries.

The claim settlement ratio of life insurance companies in Bangladesh plunged to its lowest level at least in a decade in 2021 as their capacity to pay out has been reduced by bad investment, excessive costs and business slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Anwar Hossen, who holds an MBA, works for a private firm and draws a monthly salary of more than Tk 60,000. But he has not purchased any life insurance policy although private sector employees in Bangladesh are not entitled to any pension support and his four-member family will be in trouble if he faces any untimely death. 

Sugar prices have increased again in Dhaka and Chattogram amid a supply crunch.

Bangladesh’s tea production surged to a record high of 14.74 million kilogrammes (kgs) in September this year, according to state-run Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB).

The acute gas crisis, which has been plaguing the industrial sector and households, is unlikely to see a drastic improvement anytime soon.

Although the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) had established some industrial estates as far back as the 1960s, a number of plots at these estates remain unallocated as work on land filling, constructing roads, ensuring security services and other utilities is still ongoing.

The gold market of Bangladesh is witnessing high volatility in prices, raising concerns among jewellers who claim that sales this year have declined by 25 per cent to 30 per cent from what used to be in the pre-pandemic period. 

The Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) under the agriculture ministry in early August had announced that marketing of miniket rice in the country’s markets has to be stopped.  

Refiners in Bangladesh have cut the price of soybean oil and the new rates have started to take effect in the kitchen markets of Dhaka.

Business and industrial activities were disrupted for several hours since yesterday afternoon as the national power grid failed, plunging half of the country into darkness.

The government has issued a policy aiming to facilitate the acquisition of sustainable and advanced technology among light engineering industries in a bid to expedite development in the sector, according to a gazette notification issued last month.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to extend a value added tax reduction on edible oil imports and refining for three months to retain current prices for consumers battered by rising costs of essential commodities. 

Customer turnout at various shopping centres, fashion houses and other retail outlets in Dhaka is gaining momentum ahead of Durga Puja, the biggest annual festival for the Hindu community, with traders saying sales will soon exceed that of the pre-pandemic era.

Whenever the price of a commodity increases in the local market, the traders and wholesalers have the readymade excuse of a price hike in the international market. But a recent study by an intelligence agency found their justification to be unsubstantiated.