Fear looms over flour market

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) fear that the uncertainty looms over the country’s flour market as the import of wheat dropped significantly. On the other hand, the volatile situation of sugar market is continuing.
Moreover, considering the local production and import of the edible oil, lentil and onion reserve remain stable, said the Trade and Tariff Commission.
According to the Trade and Tariff Commission, the review of the import situation showed that 10.52 lakh tons of rice and 14.11 lakh tons of wheat were imported in the country in the last 6 months compared to 2021.
This shortage of supply will have a negative impact on the market for flour and flour products prepared with wheat. Although the import of onion is slightly less, there will not be a crisis in the market as the local production is high. The report mentions that the import of lentils in the country is satisfactory.
However, data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) says that the import of pulses in the country has decreased. In the first 4 months of the current financial year 2 lakh 46 thousand tones of pulses were imported.
During the same period of last financial year, 3 lakh 69 thousand tonnes were imported. 13-14 lakh tonnes of pulses are imported annually in the country due to lack of production as per demand.
The Trade and Tariff Commission has communicated some of their observations to the government about the overall market situation in the country.
 It has been said there that the production of the companies producing daily essential products is being disrupted due to non-stop supply of gas and electricity.
 On the one hand, the cost of production is increasing. On the other hand, the supply of essential products in the market is decreasing; It is supportive of price increase.
The report of the commission also says that the reluctance of local commercial banks in opening loans for essential products is hampering the opening of loans in many cases.
As a result, there is a risk of shrinking the supply system of these products. Meanwhile, for the sake of stability of the sugar market in the country, the agency has proposed to reduce the regulatory duty on sugar import from 30 per cent to 10 per cent.
It is mentioned that the government received a revenue of Tk 3,750 crore in the fiscal year 2020-21 from the import of refined and unrefined sugar; In the financial year 2021-22 which increased to 4 thousand 983 crore. In the last financial year, the government earned a revenue of over Tk 1,233 crore.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the market is witnessing another round of flour and flour price hikes.
Loose flour is now being sold at Tk 55 to Tk 58 per kg in the market. The price of packaged flour is 85 to 62 taka per kg. In the last one year, the price of the product increased by 66 per cent in open flour and 50 per cent in packaged flour.
And in the space of one year, the price of open and packet flour has increased by 51 and 54 per cent respectively.