The Minister of Commerce explained why the inflation will not increase in the same way due to the increase in the price of fuel oil

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Industry and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has claimed that ‘inflation will not increase in that way’ due to the increase in the price of fuel oil. He said, ‘why the inflation will increase in that way, it needs to be understood a little. Compared to the rate at which the price of fuel has increased all over the world, the price increase in Bangladesh is very small.

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said this in response to a supplementary question by Independent Member of Parliament Rumin Farhana in the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday. A question and answer session was held at the beginning of the meeting presided over by Deputy Speaker Qaiser Kamal.

Referring to the increase in the price of fuel, Independent Member of Parliament Rumin Farhana wants to know from the Minister of Industry, whether any action will be taken to control inflation, if so, what is it?

Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir explained in response, why inflation will not increase? He said oil prices vary from state to state in the United States, due to their own taxes. Before the war the price in many states was $2 80 cents or 70 cents a gallon, now over $5. Compared to any neighboring country or any economy comparable to Bangladesh, the price of energy products has increased a lot in each country. In many countries this process of increasing fuel prices is automatic. The government does not have to take separate steps for this.

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said, “The increase we have had here, in terms of diesel, we have made the price of Tk 100 diesel at Tk 115. I am just saying to understand that in an industrial factory, 7 to 8 percent of their cost of production is fuel cost. If we take that 7 to 8 per cent to 100 per cent, the 15 per cent increase in diesel prices will have very little impact on the total cost.

Industries Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said, similarly in terms of transportation, a bus needs about 25 to 30 liters of diesel to travel 200 km. In the case of this 30 liter diesel, the price has increased by Rs. 10,000 kg of goods will be charged extra if the truck transport is calculated.

Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said, “It means that it seems that the price of fuel has increased, but if we calculate the unit of transported goods, then the increase is not such a stimulus for inflation.” That’s right, you can’t drive the economy to a point where the fundamental balance becomes unbalanced. That’s why all the countries of the world have taken the policy, we have taken that policy modestly and increased the price very moderately.

In response to BNP member of Parliament Shamsur Rahman Shimul’s question, Commerce Minister Khandkar Abdul Muktadir said that the instability in the Middle East has put pressure on Bangladesh’s exports. If this situation is prolonged, there is a risk of creating pressure on remittances.

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that the recent unrest in the Middle East (US and Israel’s military tensions centered on Iran) is likely to affect the global economy and trade, and Bangladesh is no exception. The Middle East is one of the most important trading partners of Bangladesh. Mainly manufactured garments, medicine, frozen food, leather goods etc. products from Bangladesh are exported to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman markets.

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Industry Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that the ongoing unrest in the Middle East has contributed to the increase in the price of energy, the increase in import costs, shipping and insurance costs, the decrease in exports to the Middle East market, the increase in commodity prices and the threat of challenges in remittance flow.

Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that due to the situation in the Middle East, there has been some pressure on exports, if it is prolonged, there is a risk of pressure on remittances.

In response to BNP member of parliament SM Jahangir Hossain’s question, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that Bangladesh has a trade deficit with all other countries except Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives among SAARC countries.

According to the information provided by the minister, the trade deficit with India is the largest. The trade deficit with India is 7,860 million US dollars. Apart from this, there is a trade deficit of 681 million dollars with Pakistan, 10.71 million dollars with Afghanistan and 29.77 million dollars with Bhutan. On the other hand, there is a trade surplus of 29.9 million with Nepal, 6.25 million with Sri Lanka and 2.85 million with Maldives.

In response to the question of BNP Member of Parliament Abul Kalam, Commerce Minister Khandkar Abdul Muktadir presented the export statistics of the last five years in Parliament. According to the information given by the minister, the export income in the financial year 2020-21 is 45.37 billion, the export income is 60.97 billion in the financial year 2021-22, the export income is 53.93 billion in the financial year 2022-23, the export income is 51.11 billion in the financial year 2023-24 and the export income is 55.19 billion in the financial year 2024-25.

In response to the question of Nashir Uddin Ahmed of Moulvibazar-1 Constituency, Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said that currently more than 13 million workers are working in 176 countries of the world.

In the absence of Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, State Minister Nurul Haque Noor answered the questions of the members of Parliament. In response to the question of Independent Member of Parliament Sheikh Mojibur Rahman Iqbal, Ariful Haque Chowdhury said that the number of workers sent abroad since 2004 is 1 crore 44 lakh 81 thousand 745.