Mohammad Suman

Essential commodities such as edible oil, wheat and sugar have become costlier in Bangladesh as their prices rose in the international markets because of the supply crunch and increased shipping costs, hitting the pocketbooks of consumers.

Usmania Glass Sheet Factory Ltd (UGSFL), a state-owned glass manufacturer, resumed production yesterday after a one-year gap.

Consumers are paying more for edible oil as prices have risen in the international market due to increased shipping fare and reduced supply. Retailers say soybean oil prices in Bangladesh have gone up by up to 6 per cent, or Tk 5 to Tk 10, per litre last month.

Domestic production of diammonium phosphate, a widely used agricultural fertiliser, remains suspended since July 1, raising concerns over meeting its enormous domestic demand.

Wheat import has declined by 15 per cent, or 9.91 lakh tonnes, year-on-year in fiscal 2020-21 for international price hike and a fall in local demand due to the pandemic.

Custom House, Chattogram seized 50 tonnes of fabrics worth Tk 20 crore last week on finding evidence of it being imported forging seals and signatures of Customs Bond Commissionerate, Dhaka.

The Customs House, Chattogram (CHC) clocked 23.23 per cent higher year-on-year revenue growth in the just-concluded fiscal year, fetching home Tk 51,577 crore.

Abul Khair Group is now expanding providing oxygen for free to western districts, having given 80 large cylinders to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital last week.

The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has recommended the government extend the duty-free raw material import facility to the firms that sell a portion of their goods in overseas markets with a view to diversifying exports.

Many garment workers faced trouble yesterday as they walked to their workplaces in absence of public transport and for not having any transport arranged by the factories on the first day of a week-long strict countrywide lockdown.

Youngone Corporation, the Korean multinational conglomerate, yesterday launched the country’s largest rooftop solar power plant in its Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) to meet its electricity demand through renewable sources.

Bangladesh is missing out on refining imported crude oil cheaply and saving valuable foreign currencies as it uses a plant that is more than half a century old and has failed to set up a new unit in a decade.

As the monsoon begins, traders in Khatunganj, the country’s largest wholesale hub for essential commodities, are fearing recurrence of the menace of waterlogging and subsequent losses as two projects involving nearly Tk 8,000 crore aimed at solving the problem of inundation in the port city are only halfway through.

The government has amended the Customs Act, doubling the penalty for providing incorrect information in import and export documents even though wrong declarations do not lead to any duty evasion.

Four corporate houses based in Chattogram have expressed willingness to extend their free oxygen supply support to Covid-19 patients and hospitals at border districts.

Domestic manufacturing might enjoy a big boost as the government plans to encourage local investment in products labelled “Made in Bangladesh”.

The National Board of Revenue has formulated customs rules to facilitate the movement of Indian goods via Bangladesh to northeast India and other countries under the transit and transhipment deal signed by New Delhi and Dhaka.

Various trade bodies in Chattogram have urged the government to increase its special allocation for the port city’s development projects in the national budget for fiscal 2021-22.

Edible oil manufacturers have reinstated a hike of around 2 per cent to take the price per litre to Tk 144, making availing daily essentials even more difficult for pandemic-hit people.

Soon after the murder of his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter sent Tk three lakh to prime accused Kamrul Islam Sikdar Musa via his business partner, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) said in its final reports submitted to Chattogram Court on Wednesday.