The coronavirus pandemic has eaten into the vitals of thousands of crores of taka in the country’s business activity in the advent of the biggest Muslim religious festival Eid-ul- Fitr.
Businesses have severely collapsed because of the coronavirus-driven lockdowns that began March 26 and extended until May 30 amid a surge in infections.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has caused a serious catastrophic collapse in the entire economy, including the country’s Eid-centric import-export trade.
Although the government has relaxed the lockdown to keep the economy afloat, it is not able to get back the old rhythm of the economic supply chain.
Traders said, despite resuming their business, they are not having business as expected due to lowest buyer presence. On the other hand, for neglecting social distancing and not following health instructions properly, concerned authorities in different parts of the country have closed down markets and shopping malls immediately after reopening.
Besides other major sectors of the domestic economy, remittance has also been badly affected by the global pandemic. Thousands of the country’s expatriates have become unemployed due to the ongoing lockdown, while many of them returned with empty hands to the county.
A team of researchers from the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University has recently tried to give an idea of the amount of economic losses that Bangladesh is facing due to the closure of everything during this long holiday.
According to the study, if the lockdown is prolonged, the daily loss will increase. In the meantime, problems have been created in at least 14 sectors of the country. At the same time, Ramadan-centric huge business activities are also nil.
The research showed the average estimated total current loss in agriculture, industry, and services during the general holiday is at least Tk 3,300 crore per day. Based on this calculation, they showed, from March 26 to April 25, in this 31-day period, the estimated average loss is Tk 12300 crore. At the end of May, the amount will stand at Tk 217800 crore.
IHE department professor Syed Abdul Hamid told Bangladesh Post, as the lockdown is extended till the end of May, the country will face a loss of Tk 217800 crore, which is nine percent of the country’s GDP”.
Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director Dr Ahsan H Mansur told journalists, “This year’s eid festival is disappointing for our economy. Millions of businesses, workers, entrepreneurs, involved in the Eid-centric economy, are suffering the most on Eid. The investments that have already been made centering Eid will incur big losses. The most affected are the shopping mall and market owners”.
“Then there is the rural economy of the country. The amount of remittances sent by expatriates has decreased significantly. As a result, the rural economy will lose about Tk 40000 crore”, he added.
Shop Owners Association president, Helal Uddin told Bangladesh Post, “There are no activities of eid business. Fewer shopping malls and markets which were reopened, do not have business as per expectation, while many of them are closing as they are not maintaining social distancing and health safety issues”.
“There are 56 lakh traders in the country. Since March 26, we are incurring Tk 1100 crore each day. However, we are grateful to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for allowing us to reopen shops on a limited scale, which at least helps us to earn something to survive”, he added.