Reversal News Desk,
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has analyzed that the country’s daily commodities market will remain stable during the upcoming Ramadan. The organization recently submitted this analysis report to the Ministry of Commerce.
It said that the market situation is becoming positive due to the various initiatives of the interim government to keep the prices of goods in the market bearable along with the downward trend in international market prices. The local market of essential goods will remain stable during Ramadan as well.
The report on the review of the overall situation of essential goods ahead of Ramadan states that the country’s import situation is normal. It said that the common people will be able to purchase goods at lower prices in the local market compared to last year.
Although the government has recently increased the value-added tax (VAT) or supplementary duty on more than a hundred goods and services, the Tariff Commission’s report did not take that into consideration.
Analyzing the World Bank’s commodity price data, the Tariff Commission’s report also says that since last December (2024), there has been a downward trend in the prices of energy, non-energy, food products and raw materials and fertilizers for various products. Only the prices of rice, corn and barley are increasing. In addition, there are various indications that the Russia-Ukraine war is ending. As a result, the supply of many international products is likely to normalize. Accordingly, the prices of import-dependent essential goods in Bangladesh will decrease.
The Tariff Commission says that due to the downward trend in the price of edible oil in the international market and the reduction in customs duties and taxes on edible oil imports, there is a possibility of a decrease in the local price of edible oil during the holy month of Ramadan.
In addition, due to the decrease in local rice production, the government has exempted all types of customs duties and taxes on rice imports. Due to this, LCs of 475,000 tons have been opened for the import of rice. When this rice arrives in the country, the rice market will be down. In addition, customs duty and tax concessions have been given on imports and the customs value has been rationalized. As a result of this initiative, the trend of opening LCs for date imports has increased. This will allow consumers to buy dates at a lower price during Ramadan compared to last year.
However, the report said that it is necessary to maintain the value of the foreign currency used to meet import costs and that it is necessary to keep the revenue and monetary policy in place. The Tariff Commission commented that Bangladesh Bank can take necessary measures in this regard.
In addition, due to the increase in the prices of lentils and chickpeas in the international market, it is necessary to monitor the storage and supply of these two products in the local market.
