According to businesses, the country’s flash floods, the aftermath of the most recent national political unrest, and the ongoing pressure from inflation have made it impossible for operations to resume as usual.
Business people said, consumers are not interested in purchasing because fear and uncertainty still plague them. Still, they said there was nothing to be done but to wait for better times and that business would eventually resume as usual.
According to Arfanul Hoque, director of retail at Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Ltd., sales at their stores have decreased since the year began. He said high inflationary pressure is a fundamental reason for the decline in sales.
Inflation hit 11.66 per cent in July this year, the highest in at least 13 years, while food inflation soared to at least a 10-year high of 14.1 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
“Later, unrest and flash floods exacerbated the situation,” he said.
However, Hoque believes the situation will gradually improve as the political situation becomes more stable. MA Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group, said factories in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka area and Gazipur’s Kashimpur locality are contending with an acute gas and power supply crisis.
“In this situation, we are running the factories with diesel to ensure power, which increases the cost of production,” he said.
He said that even though demand is now low, producers might not be able to guarantee a sufficient supply because the gas situation is impeding production. According to Jabbar, these kinds of problems have become a new source of headaches for investors, who now deliberate carefully before growing their companies or making new investments.
