Bangladesh Bank has agreed to provide policy support for importers to stabilise the prices of essential commodities in a bid to ease high inflation.
As part of the move, the regulator will relax import rules for essentials and provide US dollar support if necessary.
The decision came from a meeting between the central bank and around 20 leading business groups at its headquarters yesterday.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur presided over the meeting, which was attended by top officials and representatives of Meghna Group, City Group, TK Group, ACI Group, Bashundhara Group, Nabil Group, and Pran-RFL, among others.
The importers assured the governor that they would keep the prices of essential commodities stable.
Inflation last month eased slightly to 8.29 percent from 8.55 percent in July, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data. However, inflation remained above 9 percent for more than two years.
The governor has set a target to bring inflation down to 5 percent by the end of this year. The meeting was held to help achieve that goal and analyse the market.
After the meeting, Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group, said discussions were held with the governor on the current stock of essential commodities, import requirements, and supply challenges.
He said the governor wanted imports to increase without fuelling inflation and emphasised the need for market analysis and necessary measures.
Some restrictions had been imposed on imports worth over $300 million, he said, adding that the governor assured them the central bank would ensure close monitoring so there would be no difficulties in importing essential and other major commodities.
Sabbir Hasan Nasir, managing director of Shwapno, a subsidiary of ACI Ltd, told journalists that the US dollar market had remained stable for a long time and that there was currently no shortage of dollars.
“Now Bangladesh Bank aims to maintain reserves while bringing inflation down below 5 percent and at the same time ensuring an adequate supply of goods,” he said.
Areif Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told journalists that the inflation target could not be achieved if the supply of goods was disrupted.
“The businesses have shared their concerns, and Bangladesh Bank will provide full cooperation in importing essential commodities,” he said.
The spokesperson said there was currently no US dollar crisis in the banking sector. On the contrary, the central bank was purchasing dollars from the market. If obstacles were created in imports now, the situation would worsen in the future if a shortage arose, he said.
“There are no restrictions on opening LCs, and Bangladesh Bank will provide direct support, if necessary,” he added.
