Traders feel business was better in pandemic times than now: FBCCI president

Traders want to return to the times of Covid pandemic as they feel the business situation in the country is now far worse than how it was in those days, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Md Jashim Uddin has said.

They (businessmen) have not faced such a crisis in the last 40 years, Jashim Uddin said at a budget review event organised by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) on Wednesday.

ERF President Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha presided over and Secretary Abul Kashem moderated the programme.

"Although everything was closed during the pandemic, there was no big crisis. But now despite everything being open, their plight is huge," Jashim Uddin said.

The apex trade body chief said the banks are extracting the dollar price as much as possible like booty. "At present traders have to pay Tk114 to Tk115 against a dollar."

"We proposed to increase the price of gas from Tk15 to Tk25 with the condition that there should be uninterrupted supply to the industries,"   

However, the government increased the price of gas by Tk30, but factories are not getting uninterrupted gas," said Jashim Uddin. 

He suggested export diversification, increase allocation to the energy sector, and increase coal extraction.

The private sector chief said he was not aware of what amendments are being made to the Bank Company Act. 

6% inflation unrealistic 

"This budget has come at a very difficult time. In the current situation, the target of keeping the inflation target within 6% is not realistic," Planning Minister MA Mannan said while speaking as the chief guest.

He said, "Although Bangladesh economy has the shine of the new rich, its depth of the economy is not so much". 

"Bangladesh has a thin economy", he remarked.

Regarding inflation, MA Mannan said that "The ministers of commerce, finance, and agriculture should always keep their hands on the trigger to control the market."

MA Mannan stressed the need to run the private tax agent system at the local level before applying it across the country.

He also said that the budget has a target to collect additional revenue but has no outline of how it will be collected. He emphasised digitising the tax system.

Unrealistic targets

Presenting the main article, Research and Policy Integration for Development Chairman Md Abdur Razzaque said the budget correctly identified the key challenges but did not mention how to mitigate them.

Proposing to reduce the growth target, he said that if this target is not revised, other targets will not be achieved. The target set for private investment is also not realistic. 

The target of increasing direct taxes in the long term as a good aspect of the budget, he observed.

Abdur Razzaque also recommended reducing borrowings from the banking system and suggested reducing the expenditure in other sectors and increasing the allocation to social safety programmes. 

The economist proposed to leave the interest rate of bank loans, and exchange rate of foreign currency to the market.

"The stability in the macro-economy is important at present…If coordination initiatives are not taken now, the situation will worsen in the future," he added. 

Coordination in budget

Abu Yusuf, professor of development studies at Dhaka University, said the revenue budget needs to be coordinated with the development budget. 

"Due to lack of skilled manpower, $6-$7 billion leaves the country every year." He suggested strengthening monitoring in market management.

BUILD CEO Ferdous Ara Begum appreciated some of the promising features of the proposed budget, including the establishment of a digital bank for a cashless society, the development of the environment, an increase in direct taxes, meeting the challenge of LDC transition, giving exemption to individual taxpayers, reducing supplementary duty.