LC margin to be lifted on import of daily necessities during Ramadan: Governor
Ahead of the month of Ramadan, the LC margin and credit limit will be temporarily lifted on the import of 4/5 products, including daily necessities, especially chickpeas, sugar, wheat, and edible oil, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur.
He said these things after a meeting held on inflation and commodity prices at the Finance Ministry conference room at the Secretariat on Thursday (November 7) afternoon.
The central bank governor said, there has been a lot of discussion on the supply chain. We have discussed the price of every daily commodity. In this, the government has decided that the duty on most daily commodities has been reduced to zero. We have made some other decisions. We had already lifted the LC margin. Now we will issue a circular next Sunday that no margin should be given on daily commodities. We had lifted it and left it to the banks. However, we will encourage banks not to charge LC margin on daily necessities until the next Ramadan. This is a significant decision that we will make.
We have to be patient for the country's economy to stabilize. It will take 12 to 18 months to stabilize, said Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur.
He said that inflation rose to 10 percent in October. This could be due to various reasons including floods. However, rice prices are at a tolerable level. He also said that if the prices of energy products in the international market decrease, it will have an impact on the country. The liquidity crisis of the bank has already started to ease. Moreover, dollars are available in the bank. He also said that if no one gives dollars at this time, he will inform them.
Stating that the market is being monitored constantly, he said that no one can do anything irrationally. I have seen supply increase naturally and not by threatening people during the 1/11. He also commented that during this time, people will have to leave space on the sidewalks for walking.