One of the country's leading think-tanks, the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), is working with a political motive to bring a particular party to power, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said on Monday. “CPD conducts many polls with political motives in mind. They want to bring a particular political party to power and are affiliates of that party,” he said. The AL leader made the remarks while speaking to reporters in the conference room of the Ministry of Agriculture at the secretariat. He questioned the results of CPD's recent survey, 'Corruption Still the Biggest Barrier to Business in Bangladesh,' saying, "People need to know their survey method. Their survey method and objectivity are highly questionable. They are neither sinless nor unbiased." Also read: Business environment in Bangladesh deteriorated in 2022, says CPD He stated that countries such as the United States, Japan, and India experienced negative growth as a result of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, and asked, "How does the CPD perceive Bangladesh's positive growth despite this situation?" Abdur Razzak also stated that corruption exists in countries such as the United States and Germany, as well as in Bangladesh. "Khaleda Zia was imprisoned on corruption charges. Corruption has not yet been completely eradicated," he said.  During the meeting, the minister discussed increasing agricultural exports and the progress of implementing export roadmaps. He said that two roadmaps were implemented in order to increase agricultural goods and potato exports. He also mentioned that the ministry is working to reduce some barriers, such as banking complications and the allocation of export incentives.  

The price hike of fuel oils is going to hit the country’s four major sectors in addition to casting a negative impact on the living cost as the prices of essentials are already in an unchartered territory, experts said. They said the announcement of the price hike of diesel and kerosene has sparked off tensions in four sectors -- power, transport, agriculture and industry -- as diesel is the main fuel especially in transport, agriculture and industries, while power sector largely depends on it. Mustafizur Rahman, a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Mohammad Ali Khokon, President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and Energy experts and professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dr Ijaz Hossain came up with the apprehension while talking to UNB. They said agriculture, transport, industry and power are four big sectors of the country and the sectors are still trying to recover from the depths of the pandemic fallouts. It is a fresh blow to the economy, they said. According to official sources, the country consumes 60-65 lakh tons of fuel oil every year and 40-45 lakh tons that is diesel. Also read: Strike to continue as transporters’ meeting with minister ends ‘inconclusively’ As per the new announcement, the prices of diesel and kerosene have been raised by Tk 15 per litre to Tk 80. The energy sector has already been reeling under a gas crisis and the sudden rise in diesel and kerosene prices will aggravate the situation. The economists also believe that the rise in diesel and kerosene prices is also going to increase the overall cost of living in the country, adding to the woes of the poor people and also the middle class. According to them, the continuation of this price increase will destabilize the food and service sectors, especially the sectors where the use of such fuel products is high. The common people will suffer most as it is going to have a big impact on other sectors besides transport. Also read: Day 2 of bus strike: Commuters' pain is auto drivers' gain CPD Special Fellow Prof Mustafizur Rahman said the rise in diesel-kerosene prices would affect all the sectors, including transport, agriculture and electricity. The economy is under the pressure of inflation and the rise in fuel oil prices will have a negative impact on all levels, starting from the consumer to the producer, he feared. Mustafizur Rahman, however, said if the price is not increased it is again putting pressure on the government as it has to provide subsidies. He said the kerosene price could be brought down since it is used by low-income people. Prof Mustafiz suggested allowing the private sector to import diesel which will help create a competition in the market to reduce the price as well as break the monopoly of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). The price could be reduced a bit, especially if a long-term agreement is reached, there is an opportunity to import fuel oil at a lower rate. According to energy experts, at least 35 lakh tons of fuel oil is used every year on roads, railways and ships in the country. Of this, 25.74 lakh tons of diesel is used. Diesel accounts for 72.79 per cent of the fuel used in the transports. Agriculture mostly depends on diesel for fuel oil as it accounts for 99.73 percent of the total fuel oil used in this sector. The rising fuel prices will further increase farmers' irrigation costs, according to sector insiders. If the cost of irrigation increases further, the farmers will not be able to raise the production costs, they said. The number of diesel-powered irrigators used in the agricultural sector in the country is about 16 lakh. Huge diesel is used every year as fuel to operate deep-shallow tube-wells, LLPs, power tillers and tractors. In the 2020-21 financial year, the demand for fuel oil for agricultural machinery was estimated at 19.39 lakh tons by the BPC. The annual consumption of fuel oil in the industrial sector was 4.21 lakh tons. Of this, diesel was 3.41 tons or 80.98 per cent. Entrepreneurs in the sector say that if electricity is generated from diesel, the cost of production in factories will increase. As such, the rise in the price of fuel oil is going to have a big impact on this sector as well. In this regard, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) President Mohammad Ali Khokon told the UNB correspondent that the price of fuel oil has gone up in the world market.   “Those of us who run factories with diesel-powered generators will have higher production costs,” he said. Prof Ijaz said the diesel price hike by Tk 15 per litre will affect the economy as a whole. The government could have increased the diesel price step by step, he said, adding that the transport sector has already been affected and it will also help raise the prices of essential commodities. “Such price hike gives an indication of raising power tariff,” he added.

Around 62% of people had lost their jobs during April-May 2020 when the "general holiday" was put in place to face the first wave of Covid-19. Subsequently only 15% could get a job the following month, while 85% remained unemployed for a longer period, according to a survey by the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Almost all of these people were able to find a job by February 2021 when the adverse impact of the first wave started to recede. The study did not capture the second wave of the pandemic. Most of the 'incremental employment' was generated in the agriculture sector, where the share of the labour force increased from 24.3% to 27.5%. At the same time, a significant number of people left the services sector, as its share of the labour force declined from 55% to 52%. For the industrial sector it remained unchanged at just above 20%. Self-employed, contributing family members and day labourers have contributed to about 90% of the incremental jobs, indicating a substitution of formal by informal sector employment. Also read: CPD: Next budget should stress health, social safety Although people could find employment, they are working for a lower number of hours, on average, particularly in the agriculture sector, followed by the industry sector. The average monthly income of individuals eroded by 11.3%. The decline in income has pushed a significant number of people into lower-income groups – indicating a higher poverty incidence. At the same time income inequality increased.  More than 40% of the employed population reported that their employment situation was worse than the pre-COVID-19 period.

Export of frozen shrimps from Khulna to Europe declined drastically in 2020 due to a fall in demand in the continent's key seafood consuming countries in the wake of Covid-19 and the consequent lockdown.