Staff Reporter :
The countrymen are not getting relief from the high inflationary pressure very soon as the uptrend in commodities prices and services would continue for some more days.
They, however, noted for how long the high inflation trend would continue or where it would reach entirely depends on the fate of the Russia-Ukraine war and the price of commodities in global market.
Policy makers, economists and business leaders came up with the remarks at a discussion titled “New Challenges in the economy of Bangladesh” organized by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) at its auditorium in the capital on Sunday.
Speaking at the programme, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, however, said that the country’s economists mostly tend to express concerns while they could not see the attainments and possibilities of the country.
“But, the foreign research institutions have highlighted the strength and potentials of the economy of Bangladesh,” he added.
Turning to the issue of inflation, Dr Alam said that the price hike in fuel oil has instigated the inflation while there is no denying the fact that the people are now suffering.
“There was no alternative to raise the fuel oil price. But, the government has taken various steps and hopefully the inflationary pressure will come down by October. Despite that, the inflationary pressure will be there,” he added.
Mentioning that the government of Bangladesh is moving forward in a well-planned way, the state minister said that there is no weakness in the planning process though Bangladesh is under discomfort to some extent.
Referring to the coal-based power generation, he said although there was a stockpile of high-quality coal in the country, but the government had to import coal due to the reaction of the commoners as sometimes it needs to prioritize the political actions and reactions rather than economic consideration.
As there is an apprehension of loosing farm land if coal is extracted in whole-sale basis, Dr Alam said Bangladesh did not want to take that risk for which coal is being imported.
Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) said that the monetary policy is not working well to contain the inflationary pressure while bad times are looming large as the general point to point inflation may hit 10 percent.
He observed that the deficit in balance of payment would not go away very soon though export earnings and inward remittance would increase, imports would decline, and there will be a desirable balance in foreign trade.
Alleging that the government did nothing to rein in inflation, Dr Mansur said the government has been trying to face the challenges of inflation through increasing the supply side, but there has been less production of rice while the cultivation of ‘Aman’ is not giving much hope due to comparatively lower rainfall.
Dr Md Habibur Rahman, Chief Economist of Bangladesh Bank, said that the inflationary pressure would continue as it has been caused totally from imports.
“Despite this, we have taken various steps to contain inflation, bringing stability in the exchange rate, ensuring discipline in the financial sector. For this, efforts are on to control inflation through improving the supply side without raising the interest rate,” he said.
BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem, Former MCCI President Barrister Nihad Kabir, Former DCCI President Abul Kashem Khan, ERF Presided Sharmeen Rinvy and its General Secretary SM Rashidul Islam spoke at the discussion.
