Sukanta Halder

Edible oil processors in Bangladesh have proposed the government raise the price of soybean oil by Tk 20 per litre, according to processors and officials of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC).

With evidence surfacing of a couple of insurance companies misusing funds of policyholders, the insurance regulator has directed them to refrain from borrowing from banks using life funds as collaterals. 

Bangladesh has once again started to export jute-based carpets and earnings from shipment of floor coverings have been rising gradually. 

Abdul Hakim, a businessman from Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur district, had paid in advance for several products from Evercare Agro Food and Beverage Ltd in January but upon receiving the goods, he immediately informed the company that they were damaged.

Tea farmers in Moulvibazar might not get the expected yield this year as they are struggling to irrigate their plantations in the face of inadequate rainfall, which has also given rise to a red spider mite infestation that is eating away at the crops.

SME Foundation will provide another Tk 400 crore in loans to entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially women, to overcome pandemic losses, accelerate economic recovery and improve the quality of life in rural communities.  

The ongoing regular power cuts are eating away at the profits of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh since they need to rely on costly diesel to keep their operation up and running, which is raising the cost of production. 

Locally manufactured electric products, namely transformers and accumulators, are gaining popularity abroad as the industry’s annual export earnings touched a record-high of $100 million in the just concluded fiscal year.

Although tea production has expanded in Bangladesh over the past decade, outbound shipments of the once major export earner have dropped at the same time in the face of growing domestic demand, according to market players.

Over a year has passed since government agencies cracked down on several e-commerce platforms for not providing refunds or delivering products of thousands of customers after luring them with hefty discounts. 

Luxury hotel businesses in Bangladesh are on the path of recovery to pre-pandemic levels, with local customers playing a vital role in renting rooms, holding a large number of events and seeking food made by their restaurants. 

The global demand for furniture “made in Bangladesh” has risen considerably thanks to improvements in product quality, diversification in design, cash incentives, availability of manpower and lower wages in the industry, according to market players.

Bangladesh’s rawhide market appears to have made a comeback this Eid-ul-Azha on the back of higher demand, better prices and a bar on rawhides arriving in Dhaka.

Rawhide was not being bought and sold at prices fixed by the government, but the market situation was fairly good compared to last year.

Rawhide traders are expecting a good season for business this year as tanners have cleared last year’s arrears owed to them, which would in turn enable purchasing skins and hides from seasonal traders during upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. 

Eid-ul-Azha is knocking at the doors as Muslims are all set to celebrate the holy festival on July 10.

Leather, leather goods and footwear exports from Bangladesh reached a 10-year-high in the just concluded fiscal year thanks to the arrival of orders that shifted away from competitors, according to industry players.

It is not any other Eid for many middle and lower-middle income families. They are cutting down expenses for the festival in the face of spiralling living costs.

The price of rawhide is now lower compared to that two to three months ago for which the traders of Savar’s Harindhara bazar, one of the country’s hubs for raw leather, are worried over what lied in wait for them in upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

Bangladesh keeps losing out on tapping its vastly unutilised cattle rawhides as the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate is not fully ready yet.