Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks to keep the cash margin on letters of credit (LCs) to the minimum, based on the banker-customer relationship, for imports of ten essentials whose demand rises in Ramadan. The circular, issued on Sunday, 8 November, went to the managing directors and chief executives of all scheduled banks.
The goods are rice, wheat (flour), onion, lentils, edible oil (soybean and palm), sugar, chickpeas, peas, spices and dates. Banks have also been told to give LCs for these imports top priority so that supplies to the domestic market stay adequate and uninterrupted.
The central bank says this will make importing everyday consumer goods easier and help keep prices bearable, so that consumers can buy them at more reasonable prices if increases are held off.
Every Ramadan, demand for chickpeas, lentils, edible oil, sugar, spices and dates rises several times over. Iftar and sehri bring more chickpeas, onion fritters, aubergine fritters, fruit drinks and sweets, pushing up use of oil, sugar, lentils and spices.
The report is by a Barta24 staff correspondent.
Photo: Rashed Ali / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Barta24
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