The government is set to launch a special drive against illegal stockpiles of raw jute to ensure a smooth supply in the domestic market and enable mills to make jute goods for export, the textiles and jute ministry said yesterday.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday said the government has granted the scope to businesses to invest abroad in order to curb the transfer of money out of the country through illegal channels.

Entrepreneurs yesterday expressed disappointment as their green operations are not fetching better prices although the costly move has allowed buyers to source products from eco-friendly factories and benefit from the improving image of the whole supply chain.

Any power tariff hike will have a serious impact on the garment industry as it will scuttle its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and erode competitiveness, said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The traditional pewter and brass metalwork industry in Chapainawabganj has been struggling to bear the burden of increased production costs for the past four months now, according to industry insiders.

Textile millers yesterday urged the government to ensure an uninterrupted gas supply to keep the recovery of the apparel sector from pandemic fallout smooth.

Listed steel maker GPH Ispat’s profit soared in the first half of the current financial year.

Factories in the Japanese Economic Zone in Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj will go into production next year, said Ito Naoki, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh.

Exports of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh declined in the first half of the current fiscal year as manufacturers are not getting adequate supply of raw fibre because of hoarding amid exorbitant prices.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has urged businesspeople to come up with specific allegations if they face any harassment at the hands of tax officials instead of making random complaints.

The market for particle board is thriving in Bangladesh on the back of the rising demand for timber-alternative furniture and their growing use in interior designing.

The government looks to set up a shipbuilding facility in partnership with foreign investors at the Payra seaport in Patuakhali with an investment of $1.58 billion to cut import dependence for vessels and market ships globally.

Hotel and motel owners in Kuakata, one of the most popular tourist spots in Bangladesh, are once again paying heavy prices as bookings are being cancelled owing to the latest spike in coronavirus cases.

Maize is being traded for as much as Tk 30 per kilogramme (kg), the highest on record in Bangladesh, influenced by high international prices, a development that has created interest among many growers to expand cultivation of the grain, a key ingredient for poultry, cattle and fish feed.

Top business leaders yesterday urged the government to take steps to put an end to the harassment businesses face at the hands of VAT and tax officials and extend the loan moratorium period to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s top-selling carmaker Toyota said Tuesday it no longer expects to meet its annual production target with operations hampered by the global chip crunch.

Bangladesh needs to shift its product concentration to sectors like plastics and light engineering so that it can gradually move upwards in its industrialisation pathway, Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said yesterday.

Spending behind apparel and footwear in the US exceeded pre-pandemic levels in every month of 2021, says a new study by online personal styling service Stitch Fix. And this translates as good fortunes for Bangladeshi exporters.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has seen a massive surge in registrations for Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) by companies, mainly due to its increased monitoring and efforts to bring all registered firms under the tax net.

Chattogram Customs House has seized a consignment on charges of laundering Tk 1.6 crore by exporting 22 times more goods than the declaration.