MCCI recommends controlling unnecessary imports

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), one of the most influential organisations of traders in the country, said controlling inflation will be a major challenge in the coming months.

To deal with this situation, the organisation recommended controlling the import of unnecessary goods and to be careful when opening letters of credit, said the organisation in its quarterly review published on Thursday.

The report titled "Review of economic situation in Bangladesh: January-March 2022 (Q3 of FY22)" also highlighted some of the positive aspects of macroeconomy and some challenges there.

According to the review, some of the economic indicators appear to be less promising than projected earlier. The rate of inflation increased in the quarter under review. The fiscal framework continues to be weak in view of poor achievements, more specifically, both in terms of revenue mobilisation and public expenditure. The unemployment situation and low investment remain as challenges.

The review further said skillful management of high subsidies on electricity, gas and fertilizer prices is necessary, otherwise spending as subsidy will shoot up significantly.

The MCCI said Bangladesh economy is now rebounding from the Covid-19 shocks. Before the onset of the pandemic, the economy was growing rapidly (7.88% in FY19).

Then the growth became slower (3.45% in FY20) before the economy recovered fast in the following years (6.94% in FY21 and 7.25% in FY22) which is high compared to comparable developing economies. Today, Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.