Sukanta Halder

The retail price of chicken, one of the population’s biggest sources of protein, has gone up by around Tk 50 in the last two days, with the common reasonings being either a supply crunch or an attempt to cash in on inevitable Eid demand.  

Only around 14 per cent of applications filed by e-commerce companies have been granted digital business identification (DBID) certificates since the registration process was initiated over a year ago.

It was 11.45 pm on Tuesday. Shopping malls and markets usually remain shut at this hour of the day. But, the bustling shopping district for clothing and lifestyle items in the Mirpur-1 area was abuzz with shoppers.

The demand for electric fans has increased significantly in Bangladesh as the scorching summer heat has become nigh unbearable in recent times.

Yesterday’s blaze at Dhaka New Super Market has severely affected trade of nearby markets, that too with just a week to go before Eid-ul-Fitr. 

“I risked my life to enter my shop despite the fire but could not save anything,” said Md Babul, a seller of baby cloth items at the New Super Market.

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is seeking applications from entrepreneurs to allot 1,003 plots lying vacant in various industrial estates across the country.

With only a day remaining before the celebration of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla year, sales of clothing and sweetmeat have not picked up and businesses say they are unlikely to meet their targets this year.

A project of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to build 34 buffer warehouses has once again failed to meet its deadline and become costlier due to slow implementation.

Although soybean oil prices have dropped in the international market, consumers in Bangladesh are yet to reap the benefit of this reduction as domestic prices remain the same.

Traders of Bangabazar Complex, who were running their business on loans, have urged the government to ensure that they do not have to pay instalments for a specified period as they are recovering from a recent fire at the apparel market in Dhaka’s Gulistan.

The fire at Bangabazar on Tuesday morning not only affected shop owners at the apparel shopping complex in Dhaka’s Gulistan, but also other players in the supply chain.

Says Mohammad Moinuddin, Tk 3 lakh worth of goods of whom were stolen when he was saving others

“I could not save a single product from any of my three stores as the fire gutted everything,” said Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Sohag, who operated apparel outlets at the Banga Islamia Super Market in Dhaka’s Gulistan area.

Hours after a devastating fire tore through Bangabazar Complex in Dhaka’s Gulistan yesterday morning, Abdur Rahman, the owner of an apparel outlet in the area, was found lamenting his losses at the market intersection amid a frantic effort by firefighters to douse the blaze.

Says Abdul Latif Biplob, who lost Tk 2 crore investment, Tk 3 crore worth products in Bangabazar fire

Says Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Sohag, who lost everything of his three shops because of the fire

Local fashion brands with large-scale operations typically add price tags from their factories or warehouses before delivering products to showrooms, according to Shaheen Ahmed, president of the Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh, yesterday. 

The government has formulated a guideline for the commercial cultivation of non-native vannamei shrimp in a bid to increase export earnings from the sector, strengthen its presence in international markets and improve domestic supply.

The retail price of broiler chicken has fallen further in Bangladesh as four major poultry companies are now selling the meat at a maximum of Tk 195 per kilogramme (kg) directly from their farms.