The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in a statement on Wednesday said that the federation is deeply concerned over the business, trade, and economic situation amid current political tension.

FBCCI's Secretary General Md Alamgir issued the statement, saying that to protect the domestic economy and reduce the suffering of the people, the FBCCI called for the avoidance of any intolerant political programmes like strikes and blockade that harm the economy.

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The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have had a long-term negative impact on the global economy. It has also affected the economy of Bangladesh.

In addition to damage to global supply chains, the dollar crisis, rising fuel prices and rising transportation costs have resulted in an odd situation that increases the cost of doing business, the statement said.

In this situation, political unrest including strikes and blockades in the country are pushing the national economy towards more hurdles, the statement said.

“The strike or blockade called by different political parties is severely disrupting the supply chain. This is already having an impact on the market price of the products and also on exports," the FBCCI said.

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The entrepreneurs will be at the risk of canceling the import order of foreign buyers if they cannot ship the product on time. Also, the higher prices of all commodities including daily necessities will affect the common people.

Moreover, hartal, blockade programme will send negative message about Bangladesh abroad. As a result, foreigners will lose interest in investing in Bangladesh.

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On the other hand, disruption of production will result in factory closures and job cut.

"Not only that, if the political unrest continues, the amount of defaulted loans will increase and employment opportunities will be blocked," the FBCCI statement said.